


Total Drama Island Rewritten

by Light of the Dawn (pippathewriter)



Category: Total Drama
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Rewrite, Competition, F/M, Gen, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-18
Updated: 2016-12-10
Packaged: 2018-01-19 21:33:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 118,860
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1484869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pippathewriter/pseuds/Light%20of%20the%20Dawn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thirty-seven teens. One hundred thousand dollars. One summer. Friendships, betrayals and summer romances - all here in the dramatic first season of the hottest new reality show on television! That's right - it's Total Drama Island rewritten to include every teenage contestant from the first four seasons! Constructive criticism greatly appreciated.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Not so Happy Campers part 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, this story is set in an alternate universe in which all the campers from all of the seasons were all contestants in the first season. So I'm rewriting the first season with everyone in it (except Blaineley because she's not a 'real' contestant).
> 
> I thought I'd also play around with the teams and see how that affects the relationships that develop.
> 
> Also on fanfiction.net.
> 
> I don't own Total Drama.

"Yo! We're coming at you live from Camp Wawanakwa, somewhere in Muskoka, Ontario! I'm you're host, Chris Maclean." The man with shaggy black hair began to walk down the length of a dock, with a camera following his movement. "And we're dropping season one of the hottest new reality show on television right now!"

"So here's the deal: thirty-seven teens have volunteered spend ten weeks at this crummy old summer camp. They will compete in challenges against each other and then have to face the judgment of their fellow campers." Chris looked increasingly pleased with himself. "Every two days, one team will either receive a reward or have to send one of their teammates home. For good." Chris began to chuckle at a seemingly private joke. "We told our contestants that they'd be staying in a five star resort, so if they seem a little ticked off, that's probably why."

_**Cue theme song.** _

"Everyone gather 'round! We need a group photo for the promos!" Chris said, hopping in a boat that took him several feet from the dock so that he could get everyone in the shot. "Everyone at the end of the dock!"

"My great-grandfather invented the camera. Before him, people just stood in front of mirrors for decoration." Staci said in a matter-of-fact tone.

Courtney frowned. "But what about painted portraits?"

"Oh, they were invented by my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-uncle." Staci said with a nod.

Courtney shook her head. "Painting has been around for more than just a few centuries."

"Shut up so I can take the picture!" Chris commanded.

The teens crowded around at the end of the dock and struck a pose together.

"Move in closer!" Chris called. "You're too wide for the shot!"

The teens shuffled closer together.

"Say cheese!" Chris said.

"Cheese!" The contestants replied in unison as Chris hit the button to take the photo.

"Oh, hold on. The lens cap's still on." Chris said, popping the cap off. "Okay, now smile!"

"What are you waiting for, man?" Leshawna asked when the camera didn't flash. "My face is starting to freeze up!"

"Card's full!" Chris explained, frowning as he fiddled with the camera. "There, should be good now. Everyone say 'Wawanakwa'!"

"Wawanakw-AAAHHHHH!" The contestants screamed as the dock gave out under their combined weight and sent all of them plunging into the lake.

"Okay guys, dry off and meet at the campfire pit in ten!" Chris said, abandoning the teens in the water.

* * *

"Ugh! My suitcase is drenched!" Heather snarled, kicking her expensive suitcase angrily. "My stuff is ruined!"

"You don't have to wear anything to the campfire you know, gorgeous." Duncan said, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

"Ugh, drop dead!" Heather growled.

"My stuff is soaked too." Zoey said, offering a smile. Heather was not impressed.

"Here, do you want to use my towel?" Mike asked, offering Zoey a smile and his towel. "My suitcase didn't fall in, fortunately."

"Thanks!" Zoey said, accepting Mike's towel to dry herself off with.

"No problem." Mike said.

"It's really pretty here, isn't it?" Zoey said, glancing around.

"Yeah, it's  _beautiful_." Mike said, subconsciously leaning closer to Zoey.

"I hope we're on the same team." Zoey said with a smile.

"Me too. Speaking of teams - we'd better get to the campfire." Mike said, and Zoey nodded before they began to make their way towards the campfire, with a half-drowned Heather glaring after them.

"Hey! What about me?!" Heather screamed after them.

* * *

"This is camp Wawanakwa, your home for the next ten weeks." Chris said. "The campers sitting around you will be your cabin-mates, your competition and maybe even your friends. The camper who manages to stay on the show for the longest without getting voted off will win one hundred thousand dollars."

"Excuse me, what will the sleeping arrangements be?" Duncan asked, an eyebrow raised in amusement. "Because I would like to request a bunk under  _her_." He jabbed a thumb in Heather's direction.

"They're not co-ed, are they?" Heather asked in alarm.

"No." Chris shook his head. Heather looked relieved. "Girls get one side of each cabin and dudes get the other."

"Excuse me, Kyle, can I request a cabin with a lake view because I am the prettiest?" Lindsay asked.

"Hey!" Dakota squeaked. "If she gets a lake view cabin for being pretty, I should get one too!"

"Okay, you are, but that's not really how it works here." The host replied, before beginning to frown. "And it's Chris."

"I have to live with Sadie or I'll die!" Katie exclaimed.

"And I'll break out in hives!" Sadie cried. "It's true!"

"This cannot be happening." The goth girl, Gwen said in a monotone voice.

"Aww, come on guys," Owen said, grabbing Gwen and Tyler into a double headlock hug – with Gwen under one arm and Tyler under the other. "It'll be fun! It's like a big sleepover!"

"At least you don't have to sleep next to  _him_." Tyler whispered to Gwen, nodding his head towards Duncan, who was giving a noogie to a deer.

"Here's the deal: we're gonna split you into three teams." He produced a piece of paper. "If I call out your name, go stand over there." Chris said, pointing to a spot to the far right of the campfire area. "Trent, Ann Maria, Cody, Owen, Dakota, Staci, Jo, Justin, Dawn, Noah, Alejandro and Zoey."

The named contestants gathered in the spot that Chris had pointed out.

"Nice to meet you all." Zoey said with a smile, casting a slightly disappointed glance over her shoulder at the nice boy, Mike, who had loaned her his towel.

"The pleasure is all mine." Alejandro said, taking Zoey's hand and planting a kiss on the back of it like a true gentleman. Zoey's eyes grew wide as she witnessed the gesture, and her cheeks flushed pink.

Chris threw them a rolled up piece of green fabric, which Owen caught and unrolled, revealing the emblem of a green rodent in a cream coloured circle in the middle of the flag. "From this moment on, you are officially the Screaming Gophers."

"Yeah! I'm a gopher!" Owen cheered. "Woo!"

"The next team will consist of: Beth, Duncan, Harold, Gwen, Ezekiel, Geoff, Leshawna, Heather, Tyler, Katie, DJ and Lindsay."

"Wait, what about Sadie?" Katie asked in distress as she moved over to where her team stood.

Chris threw the team a rolled up banner, this one orange in colour. Harold caught it and let it unroll, spreading wide the emblem of their team.

"You guys will officially be known as the Killer Bass." Chris said.

"That's awesome." Harold said. "It's like. . . amazing."

"The rest of you, over here. Scott, Bridgette, Lightning, Cameron, Eva, Sadie, B, Mike, Brick, Izzy, Courtney, Sam and Sierra!" Chris said. "Move move move!"

"But Katie's a Bass! I have to be a Bass!" Sadie began to wail.

"Sadie is it? C'mon. It'll be okay." Courtney said.

"And you will officially be the Thrashing Bears!" Chris said as Brick unrolled the purple flag.

"This is so unfair!" Sadie began to cry. "I'll miss you Katie!"

Katie began to cry as well. "I'll miss you too Sadie!"

"Alright campers, you and your team will be on camera in all public areas during this competition." Chris began. "You will also be able to share your innermost thoughts on tape with video diaries anytime you want. Let the audience at home know what you're really thinking or just get something off your chest."

* * *

**Confessionals**

_Gwen sat in the confessional. "So far this sucks."_

The screen went snowy for half a second.

_Jo appeared on the screen. "We weren't even two minutes into the game when the weak links started to appear. I wouldn't be at all surprised if the Bass lose the first challenge and boot that goth girl."_

The screen went snowy again.

_Lindsay stood with her back to the camera. "I don't get it, where's the camera guy?"_

More snow.

_Owen was standing in the confessional, looking very serious. "Hey everyone, check this out. I have something very important to say!" Lifting one leg, he farted loudly. Then he began to giggle. "Nyahahahaha!"_

Snow again.

_Zoey was in the confessional now. "Ew, it really smells in here. . ." She said, waving her hand in front of her nose to clear away the smell. "Anyway, that Mike guy is so cute!" She gave up waving her hand and instead pinched her nose to keep out the smell. Then she looked down and blushed a little. "I wish we were on the same team so I could get to know him better."_

* * *

"Alright, any questions?" Chris asked. Nobody raised their hand. "Cool, lets find your cabins." He walked the three groups to a semi-circle composed of three rather dilapidated cabins. "Gophers in east, Bass in middle and Bears in west."

The three teams split up and made their way to their team's cabins.

"Bunk beds? Isn't this a little summer camp?" Heather asked in disgust, as she opened the door to the girls' side of the Killer Bass cabin. She stopped in the doorway to survey their living arrangements.

"That's the idea, genius." Said the goth girl, pushing past her on her way into the cabin.

"Ugh, shut up weird goth girl!" Heather responded with a glare.

"You're so smart, I feel that." Said a brunette boy to Gwen.

She dropped her suitcases in irritation. "Shouldn't you be on the boys' side?" She said, turning to face him. "And in a different cabin?" Then she picked him up and threw him out of the cabin, where he handed face-down in the dirt.

"Where are the outlets? I need to plug in my straightening iron." Linsday asked, walking out onto the cabin's porch.

"There are some in the communal bathrooms, just across the way." Chris answered.

"Communal bathrooms? But I'm not Catholic." Lindsay said.

"Not communion:  _communal_." Chris said in irritation.

"It means we shower together." Gwen said, sitting on the porch steps. "Idiot."

"AWWW, NO! AWW, COME ON!" Lindsay wailed, while Gwen covered her ears.

"It'll be okay." Said a brunette with glasses and braces, patting Lindsay on he arm reassuringly.

"Excuse me, Chris?" Geoff called, joining Gwen and Lindsay on the steps. "Is there a chaperone of any kind in this facility?"

"You're all sixteen years old." Chris answered. "As old as a counselor in training at a regular summer camp. So other than myself, you'll be unsupervised." Chris looked around at the campers who were still outside. "You've got half an hour to unpack and meet me back at the main lodge, starting now."

"Nice." Geoff said.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH HHHHHHH!" A scream cut through the air, drawing campers from all of the cabins to the girl's side of the Killer Bass cabin.

"Oh man that white girl can scream." Leshawna said as they looked into the cabin, where Lindsay was shaking in fear as a cockroach crawled towards her.

"What is it?" She asked. "Kill it! Kill it!"

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH !" Screamed DJ, jumping onto one of the beds and breaking it in half.

"That was my bed." Gwen said.

Harold ran in and began stomping on the floor, trying to squash the cockroach, which managed to evade him repeatedly.

Half of the girls screamed and moved to higher ground – the top bunks, while Leshawna and Harold tried to stomp on the cockroach.

Suddenly, Duncan appeared with an axe and brought it up. Just as he was about to swing down and slice the cockroach into two, another scream was heard.

"NO! DON'T KILL THAT POOR THING!" Shrieked a pale girl with pale blonde hair. Duncan froze, staring at the blonde girl with a quizzical look on his face. The girl seized the opportunity to reach down and scoop up the cockroach in her hands. "There, there you sweet, innocent creature."

With everyone staring after her with a mixture of amazement and disgust, the girl carried the cockroach out of the cabin.

"That's one way to get rid of a cockroach." Gwen said, still looking disgusted.

"I can't believe she picked it up!" Said Heather in a tone of revulsion. "With her  _hands_!"

"Girl's got nerve." Leshawna said in agreement.

"If you ever see one of those things again, just call me and I'll get rid of it for you." Tyler said to Lindsay.

"Okay!" She said with a smile.

"They always go for the jocks." Duncan said, rolling his eyes.

"If you're lonely, I bet Roach-girl is free." Heather said. "She doesn't mind cockroaches – she could take you in and look after you with all her other creepy-crawly pets."

"Thanks, but no thanks." Duncan said. "I actually have standards, thank you."

"Really? A criminal like you?" Heather asked. "Can't be too wide a selection of girls who will actually have you."

"I came to thank you for not chopping that innocent little creature in half." said a soft voice from the doorway. It was the roach-girl, and it was apparent that she'd heard the entire exchange between Duncan and Heather. However, she didn't seem affected by their words in the slightest.

"Awww. . . she came back for you!" Heather hissed.

Her pales eyes met Heather's. "It was very brave of you to come here, and broadcast your insecurities to the world."

"What?" Heather asked, looking both bewildered and annoyed.

"You can't stand the idea of people disliking you without reason, so you're mean to others so that you can hide your insecurities and reassure yourself by telling yourself that that is why others don't like you." Dawn said solemnly.

Heather's eyes went wide in shock. "How dare you?! You don't know anything about me!" she snapped as Duncan began to laugh.

"But it's all there in your aura."

"My aura? Ugh, this cabin has a strict no-witches policy." Heather said, flipping her hair as she gave the girl a rather condescending wave. "Buh-bye Roach Queen."

* * *

**Confessional**

_Duncan was still laughing as he sat in the confessional. "That was. . . priceless. Just the look on her face, ha!"_

Static.

" _Creepy witch girl is going down." Heather sat in the confessional, her arms crossed. "And just so you all know – I am NOT insecure."_

Static.

_Geoff was holding his stomach. "That was the most disgusting-_

Static.

_Dakota looked like she was in pain. "-grossest-"_

Static.

_Leshawna looked ill. "-nastiest-"_

Static.

_Courtney was holding her mouth as though she was going to throw up. "-vile-"_

Static.

_Alejandro looked just as ill. "-revolting-"_

Static.

_Gwen was next, looking very nauseous. "-ghastly-"_

Static.

_Noah looked repulsed. "-abhorrent-"_

Static.

_Heather was in the confessional again, looking very unwell this time. "-gruesome-"_

Static.

_Zoey's face was green. "-most awful-"_

Static.

_Owen was rubbing his stomach and looking pleased. "-bestest meal I've ever had! Delicious! I give it five stars!"_

* * *

"Next time on Total Drama Island:" Chris's voice announced as the camera zoomed in on the one-thousand foot high cliff. " _Your very first challenge is to jump off this one thousand foot high cliff into the lake!_ "

* * *


	2. Not so Happy Campers part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The epic saga continues in part two. The campers must face their first challenge - but the first challenge isn't going to be as easy as they all think. In fact, it's going to set a precedent for what kind of challenges the contestants should be expecting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Teams:**
> 
> **Screaming Gophers:**  Dawn, Alejandro, Ann Maria, Noah, Dakota, Justin, Cody, Trent, Zoey, Jo, Owen
> 
>  **Killer Bass:** Duncan, LeShawna, Geoff, Gwen, Heather, Lindsay, Katie, Harold, Beth, Tyler, DJ, Ezekiel
> 
>  **Thrashing Bears:** Sadie, Cameron, Brick, Eva, Courtney, Sierra, Scott, Beverly, Lightning, Sam, Izzy, Bridgette, Mike

"Last time on Total Drama Island, thirty-seven teens found themselves at a crappy summer camp!" Chris announced. "Forced to endure disgusting food and less-than-desirable living arrangements, the drama is already starting to heat up on Total Drama Island!"

_**Cue theme song.** _

"The first part of your very first challenge is to jump off this one thousand foot high cliff into the lake!" Chris announced to the crowd of teens with a broad smile on his face.

"You cannot be serious!" DJ said.

"Piece of cake." Bridgette commented to Cameron, who was looking doubtful.

"If you look down, you will see two marked areas. The wider ring represents the part of the lake that we have filled with psychotic, man-eating freshwater sharks! And insider that area you can see a smaller area - that is your target area; the part of the lake that we're about ninety percent sure is safe."

"What do you mean 'ninety percent sure'?!" Cameron asked in alarm.

"For each member of your team that jumps and actually survives, you will find a crate of supplies below. In each crate you will find supplies you will need to complete part two of the challenge: building a hot-tub!" Chris explained. "The team with the best one gets to keep it for the rest of the summer! And the team with the worst hot-tub will be sending someone home tonight! Killer Bass – you're up first!"

"So dudes, who's jumping first?" Geoff asked, peering over the edge of the cliff.

"I'm sorry, there's no way I'm doing this." Heather said.

"Why not?" Asked the geeky brunette, Beth.

"Hello, we're on  _national tv_. I can't get my hair wet." Heather said.

"If she's not doing it, then I'm not either." Stated a blonde in a blue bandana, Lindsay.

"Oh, you're doing it." Leshawna said.

"Says who?"

"Says me. I'm not losing our first challenge because you got your hair did, you spoiled little daddy's girl."

"Back off you ghetto glamour too-tight pants-wearing rap-star wannabe."

"Mall-shopping, ponytail-wearing, teen-girl reading peeking at high school prom queen."

"Well at least I'm popular."

"You're jumping!"

"Make me!" Heather challenged, not expecting Leshawna to meet the challenge. Heather's thin physique made it easy for Leshawna to pick her up and toss her over the edge of the cliff. As the plummeted towards the water, she vowed vengeance. "LESHAWNA, YOU ARE SO DEAD!"

"Hey, I threw you into the safe zone, didn't I?" Leshawna called down to the girl as she splashed into the lake. Then, before taking the plunge herself, she commented to herself. "I just hope I can hit it too."

Lindsay, Gwen, Duncan, Harold, Geoff, Tyler, and Ezekiel followed suit, until only Beth, DJ and Katie remained.

"I can't do it." Beth said, shaking. "I'm too scared."

"I can't do it either." DJ said. "I'm afraid of heights – have been ever since I was a kid."

Chris handed them chicken hats and directed them to the path down the hill while their teammates mocked them with chicken sounds from below.

"Nine jumpers and two chickens for the Bass. One left to go." Chris stated, looking at his clipboard.

"I'm not jumping without Sadie!" Katie cried out, clutching her best friend's hand.

"I can't jump without Katie!" Sadie agreed.

"Can we switch teams?" Katie asked, before the two began to beg in unison.

"Please please please please please please please please please please please please please-"

"ENOUGH!" Chris shouted.

"I'll switch teams." Izzy volunteered with a shrug, but Chris shook his head.

"No, now I'm annoyed. Either jump or don't jump."

Katie looked at her best friend and then shook her head. "I can't do it without you, Sadie!"

Chris handed her a chicken hat and the dark-haired girl made her way towards the trail down the slope, moving slowly as if hesitant to make the journey alone.

"Bears, you're up next." Chris said.

"Any volunteers?" Bridgette asked, looking at her team.

"Sha-Lightning will be first!" said an athletic looking boy as he stepped forward. He was the first Bear to take the plunge, followed shortly after by Izzy, Sierra, B and Sam.

"I can't do it without Katie!" Sadie cried.

"Come on, why don't we jump together?" Bridgette suggested, offering her hand to the girl. Sadie was reluctant, but eventually nodded and the two jumped together, followed shortly after by Mike, Brick and Scott – Scott screaming hysterically as he desperately tried to clear the shark-infested water in which he had landed.

Eva was the last Bear to take the plunge.

"I can't do it!" Cameron protested. "I can't swim!"

Chris handed him a chicken hat.

"Excuse me, Chris - I have a medical condition." Courtney said.

"What condition?"

"A condition that prevents me from jumping off of cliffs." she said.

"Are you sure you wanna do that? You could cost your team the win. And then they'll hate you."

"It's a calculated risk." Courtney said. "I've seen the other team, I don't think all of them will jump."

Chris handed her a chicken hat, and she made her way towards the trail, where the bubble boy was on the verge of an anxiety attack.

"Gophers, you're up!" Chris said. "If you can beat the Bears, I'll throw in a cart to help with the crates."

"Awesome!" Trent said.

"Uh-uh. I ain't getting my hair wet." Ann Maria stated.

"But senorita, if you do not jump, we will lose the challenge." Alejandro said, taking the girl's sprayed-orange hand in his own.

Ann Maria blushed under her tan, but sighed. "Okay, I'll jump. But I'm not going first."

"Does anyone want to go first?" Zoey asked with a hopeful smile.

"I would say ladies first, but in this situation, that is not the most gentlemanly path of discourse." Alejandro said, his teal gaze surveying his team. "If nobody has any objections, I will go first."

Zoey, Ann Maria and Dakota were quick to follow Alejandro's lead, diving into the water after him eagerly.

"My great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather invented swimming. Before him, people just flapped their arms around and sank to the bottom." Staci said. "And my great-great-great-great-great-great uncle invented swimsuits. Before him, people used to swim in their everyday clothes."

Noah and Dawn exchanged a glance, already tired of hearing Staci's ancestral stories and hurried to the edge of the cliff, jumping one after the other. Cody followed suit, and then Justin.

Staci glanced at Chris, who was tallying the score on his clipboard. "My great-great-great grandmother invented clipboards. Before her, paper just flopped in half when you tried to write on it."

"Shut up and jump already!" Jo growled.

"My great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather invented jumping. Before him, people just fell."

Jo, increasingly annoyed by the brunette, gave her a hard shove and sent her flying off the end of the cliff. Then she breathed a sigh of relief. "Ah, silence." Then she herself jumped.

"Let's do this." Trent said, giving a high-five to his overweight teammate, before sprinting to the end of the cliff and diving in.

"One camper left. You need this jump for the win. No pressure." Chris said. Then he paused and laughed. "Okay, there's pressure."

"You can do it Owen!" called the boy's teammates from below.

* * *

**Confessional**

_Owen was sitting in the confessional. "I was pretty darn nervous. See, the thing is – I'm not that strong a swimmer."_

Static.

_Geoff was next. "I'm looking at this guy and thinking there's no way he's gonna make it."_

Static.

" _I could sense Owen's determination even from the bottom of the cliff. His aura was magnificent during the challenge." Dawn said. "However, I could not help fearing for his safety should he complete the challenge."_

Static.

_Alejandro looked at the camera nonchalantly. "If he had not jumped, I would have had him voted off. There is no room for weakness on this team."_

Static.

" _I actually thought 'if he jumps this, he's going to die'." Gwen said._

* * *

"Take a good run at it, Buddy!" Chris suggested, and Owen nodded. "You can do this."

"I'm going to die now. I'm going to fricken' die now." Letting out a battle-cry, Owen took off at a run while his team screamed encouragement – some from the beach and some from the water. Owen reached the point where the land ended and leaped off the cliff, beginning to scream the moment he began his descent. "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHH CRAP!"

He hit the water with such force that it sent a tidal wave onto the beach, bowling over every contestant on the beach, and beaching everyone that had been in the water – including the rescue boat.

"The Winners: the Screaming Gophers!" Chris announced via megaphone.

"That was awesome, Dude!" Trent called. Then, seeing that Owen had an unsure look on his face, frowned. "What's wrong?"

"I, uh, think I lost my bathing suit."

The Gophers quickly worked as a team to load their crates onto the carts that Chris had provided them with the Bass and the Bears were struggling with the heavy crates. The Bass were pushing their crates while several members of the Bears team were strong enough to pick up their crates and carry them.

* * *

"We need to work as a team." Leshawna stated. "Everyone who can pick up a crate by themselves – do it. Anyone who can't – get a partner. Pushing these crates across the sand isn't getting us ahead in this race – we need to try a new strategy."

"Who made you team leader?" Duncan asked, rolling his eyes in annoyance

"Nobody, but unless you wanna get eliminated this round, I suggest that you listen to me. We don't need to be in first place, but we can't be last." Leshawna said. "So find a partner and pick up your crate!"

* * *

Courtney was pushing a crate along in the sand when suddenly she pulled her hand away from the crate and shook it in alarm. "Ow! I think I just got a splinter!"

Eva stalked back and picked up the large wooden box with ease. "Just pick up the damn crate." she snarled at Courtney, dropping the box back on the ground.

Chris drove up on his bright red ATV and raised an eyebrow at the teens. "What's up with you guys? You're way behind the other teams."

"The Gophers are already working on opening their crates." Chris said. Then he laughed. "Might take them awhile, seeing as you're only allowed to use your teeth to open the crates. I thought of that one myself!"

"You can't be serious." Bridgette said, unimpressed.

As Chris drove away on his ATV to catch up with the Bass, Courtney put her hands on her hips and frowned. "We need a project manager. Since I'm the only one here with CIT experience, I'm electing myself."

"Oh goody." Scott commented, rolling his eyes.

"Right, we have the numbers advantage against the other teams. We should use that to secure our team's victory." Courtney said, ignoring Scott's comment completely. Looking around, she nodded. "We need to figure out which boxes are the heaviest. We'll give them to our strongest players and the rest of us can take the lighter ones. That will make moving the crates more efficient."

Courtney's teammates seemed reluctant at first, but couldn't find any reason to refuse her plan. Courtney herself judged the weight of the boxes, then assigned them to people she thought looked strong enough to carry them accordingly.

"Alright, let's get a move on!" Courtney said, and her team hoisted the crates us and began to move. Except one person began walking the wrong way. Courtney frowned. "B, the campsite is the other way."

The silent boy ignored her and took his box to the edge of the beach and the forest, where he placed it on the ground. Then, he disappeared into the bush while Courtney frowned.

"That idiot! What does he think he's doing?!" Courtney said, putting her box down and storming over to where he'd put his box down. "Hey, where are you going?! Stop right now! Are you even listening to me?! I'm in charge! You have to listen to me!"

Silent B remained just that – silent, and he continued on as though .

"B, what in the world do you think you're doin-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" Courtney screamed at the top of her lungs as she was very suddenly fired into the air, high above the tops trees, with B's wooden crate.

"What just happened?!" Bridgette asked in alarm, the remaining members of the Thrashing Bear team sprinting with their boxes to where B's crate and Courtney had stood only moments before.

"Wow!" Cameron exclaimed in awe as they discovered that Courtney had stepped onto a see-saw type of device. The same device on which B had placed his crate and then used his own weight on the other end of the long board to fire both his crate and an unwitting Courtney across the sky.

"You're a genius!" Eva said, for once almost not glaring as she placed her crate on the end of the device. B prepared to send Eva's stuff back to camp.

The girl with curly ginger hair placed her crate on top of Eva's. Then, as B prepared to jump, she cried out in excitement and jumped on top of the two crates as well. "Izzy wants to ride too!"

* * *

"Alright! We beat the other team here!" Leshawna said with a sigh of relief as she put her crate down.

"Yeah! Let's get this thing built!" Tyler exclaimed enthusiastically, grabbing a crow-bar to use to pry the crates open with.

"Not so fast!" Chris said, appearing on his red ATV. "You guys can only use your teeth to get those crates open!"

"You've got to be kidding me." Leshawna said. "Do I look like a beaver to you?"

"At least we're ahead of the Bears!" Heather said, glaring at Leshawna. "Get chewing!"

Leshawna paused and looked around. "Does anyone else hear screaming?"

"WOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOO-YEAH!"

"I think it's gettin' louder, eh." Ezekiel said as the Bass looked around for the source of the screaming.

Suddenly Beth pointed to the sky. "Look!"

"Hit the deck!" Leshawna screamed as they all caught sight of the object that was hurtling through the sky towards them.

All members of both the Gopher and Bass teams dove under the decks of their cabins as the object hit the ground in front of the Bears' cabin. Seconds later a second, smaller crate landed neatly on top of it.

Then, there was a loud  _SPLASH!_  as something landed in the Gopher's almost-finished hot tub, which promptly collapsed and flooded the area in front of the Gopher's cabin. As half of the Gophers stared in shock, a girl with bright ginger hair sat up from the centre of the Gopher's smashed hot tub.

She began to giggle and clapped her hands. "HAHA, THAT WAS AWESOME! AGAIN, AGAIN!"

Over the course of a few minutes, several other crates joined the two in front of the Bears' cabin.

The last crate of the Bears' showed up at the same time as the majority of the Bears' team. As the last crate landed on the top of the stack, all of the crates gave way and fell open, revealing the hot tub parts contained within them.

"Izzy, are you okay?" Bridgette asked, rushing over to help her teammate, who still seemed a little dazed. The girl nodded eagerly in response.

"Yeah! It was awesome!"

"Senorita, are you sure? You took quite a fall." Alejandro asked, having emerged from under the deck and extending his hand to Izzy in offering. "May I offer you a hand?"

"Wow-ee." Izzy said, her eyes wide as she studied that handsome Latino boy from the ground for a moment. Then, accepting he hand he'd offered her, she stood and proceeded to shake like a dog, covering both Bridgette and Alejandro in water from the hot tub.

"She's not going to be okay when I'm finished with her!" Jo snarled, crawling out from under the Gopher's cabin's desk and storming over to the redhead angrily. "You broke our team's hot tub!"

"She didn't do it on purpose." Eva said as the other campers emerged from under the decks of their cabins. Then, without awaiting a response from the blonde in the gray track suit, Eva turned back to her team. "Bears, let's build this hot tub!"

"Where's Courtney?" Bridgette piped up, glancing around.

"Oohhhh. . ." Came an agonized groan from above. Looking up, they found Courtney in a nearby pine tree, hanging over one of the larger branches, on a part of the branch that looked dangerously thin. At the bottom of the tree, they saw the remnants of the crate that Courtney had flown with.

"Come on Bears! We don't have all day to finish this hot tub!" Eva growled, spurring her team into action as B arrived. He'd taken a short-cut through the woods and as he walked out of the forest, Courtney slipped off of her branch and fell into his arms.

"Put. . . me. . . down. . ." Courtney said as fiercely as she could, which wasn't very fiercely as she seemed to be quite winded. B complied immediately and Courtney dragged herself to the Bear's cabin, clutching her stomach as she opened the door into the girls' side and disappeared within.

"Come on B!" Eva snapped, holding up a piece of board and a piece of metal piping. "We need your smarts to assemble this thing!"

"Come on Bass!" Leshawna said. "Let's get a move on! We can still win this thing!"

* * *

"This is useless." Cody told his team, holding up several broken parts. "Half of our hot tub pieces are broken!"

Sighing in irritation, several Gophers sat on the steps leading up to their cabin to discuss their next course of action.

"So we're gonna lose the challenge?" Ann Maria said, crossing her arms. "Oh, uh-uh, gingy's going down."

"Hold up Helmet Hair." Jo said, smirking. "I have an idea."

"Do tell, senorita." Alejandro said.

"While you're here? I don't think so." Jo snorted. "You were pretty quick to jump up and help that girl from the other team."

"You don't honestly think I would betray my own team for the sake of a girl, do you?" Alejandro asked. "No, I was merely hoping to distract both her and her teammate."

Jo didn't look convinced, but began to whisper the details of her plan anyway. "We can sabotage the other two teams by switching our broken pieces for pieces of theirs that aren't broken."

"Mmmm, I like the way you think." Alejandro said, standing up. "Come on team, we can do this!"

Alejandro grabbed one of the broken pieces and sauntered over to the Bears'. Putting the broken piece down as inconspicuously as he could, he picked up the unbroken piece beside it and wandered back to his team.

"Nice work." Jo said with a nod. "Cody, Noah – you two work on putting this thing together."

"Might want to reassign Cody." Noah commented, glancing over at the brunette, who had wandered over to the Bass team and was trying to flirt with the goth girl, Gwen.

"You have great hair, you know that, right?" Cody said with a smile.

Gwen rolled her eyes. "Uhh. . . thanks."

"Will you guys please stop screwing around?! You're gonna lose us the challenge!" Leshawna said to Duncan and Tyler, who were fighting over a hammer. Tyler let go and Duncan fell backwards, he hammer flying out of his hands and striking Harold.

"MY KIWIS!" Harold gasped, doubling over in pain.

"Look, you need to shape up! You're playing on my last nerve." Leshawna said to Duncan. "This is a team challenge and unless you want us to vote you out, I suggest you start trying to act like a team player!"

"Thanks for the memo,  _mom_." Duncan replied tauntingly, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, you wanna be glad I'm not your mama!" Leshawna said, putting her hands on her hips. "'Cause I would'a beaten that bad attitude outta you."

* * *

**Confessional**

_Duncan was sitting the confessional. "I don't know who Leshawna thinks she is, and what she thinks gives her the right to boss me around, but she's starting to get on my nerves."_

Static.

" _B is going down." Courtney was still looking miserable and clutching her stomach. She was less winded now. "The first time we lose a challenge, he's gone. Mark my words." She winced and clutched her stomach tighter. "Ugh, I think I broke a rib when I hit that tree."_

Static.

_Cody was sitting the confessional with his hands behind his head. "I know we're on different teams and everything, but I'm pretty sure Gwen digs me."_

* * *

Courtney emerged from the cabin, still clutching her stomach. She slowly made her way down the steps and began to inspect her team's hot tub.

"Princess lives." Duncan said with a smirk. "You enjoy your flight?"

Courtney rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Leave me alone, you delinquent freak. Can't you annoy someone on your own team?"

"Courtney!" Mike and Bridgette greeted in unison as they approached the brunette.

"Are you okay?" Mike asked.

"Yeah, we've been so worried about you." Bridgette said.

"Not worried enough to come and check on me." Courtney snorted.

"We've been working to get our hot-tub built. We don't want to have to vote anyone out tonight." Bridgette said.

"Right." Courtney said, not seeming convinced. She now moved to inspect their hot tub. "This hot tub doesn't look very sturdy."

"Yeah, some of the pieces were broken." Scott commented.

"They probably got broken when B fired them across the island." Courtney commented.

"A bunch of our pieces were broken too." Duncan commented.

Courtney glared at him. "Can't you bother your own team instead of me?"

"But where's all the fun in that, Princess?" He asked, earning an angrier glare from the freckle-faced brunette.

"Humph." She said, turning her back to the punk boy and instead grabbing a role of duck tape to patch up their hot tub with.

Chris rode up on his ATV then. "Time's up!"

"Done!" Cody said, pouring the last bucket of water into the hot tub.

Chris walked up to Gopher's hot tub and gave it a satisfied nod. "This is an awesome hot tub."

"Awesome!" Trent and Zoey exclaimed, giving each other a high five.

Chris began to inspect the Bass's hot tub. "Err. . . okay . . ."

"Half the pieces were broken!" Leshawna said defensively, putting her hands on her hips.

Chris moved to the Bears' hot tub. "Well, both the Bass's and the Bears' hot tubs have character, but I declare the Gophers the winners!"

"Who has to vote someone off tonight?" Heather asked, looking from her team to the Bears' team. "Us or the Bears?"

"Well, your hot tubs both suck." Chris said with a frown, glancing down at his clipboard. "But the Bears had more jumpers than you guys, so they get second place. Bass, I'll see you at the campfire tonight. Gophers, enjoy your wicked hot tub party!"

* * *

**Confessional**

_Gwen sat in the confessional. "You let our team down today. That's why you're out."_

Static.

_Duncan wasn't looking impressed. "Take your bossiness and your big mouth and just go home."_

Static.

_Heather appeared on the screen. "You chicken out, you get voted out. That's how it works."_

Static.

_Geoff was next. "You didn't help our team today and we lost. You're out, sorry."_

Static.

_Leshawna was last. "You need a serious attitude adjustment. Go get one."_

* * *

"Bass, welcome to our very first campfire ceremony." Chris greeted, holding up a plate of marshmallows. "Here at camp, marshmallows are more than just a tasty snack. They represent life. I have eleven marshmallows here. You've cast your votes and tonight you will send someone down the dock of shame where they will board the boat of losers and leave the game. And whoever gets voted out cannot come back. Ever."

"Tyler, Gwen, Geoff." Chris said, tossing each a marshmallow as he said their names.

"Ezekiel, Heather, Lindsay." The three rose as they caught their marshmallows and made their way to stand with the other safe contestants.

"Harold, Leshawna,-"

"Damnit!" Duncan hissed.

"Duncan."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Leshawna said as she caught her marshmallow. She and Duncan exchanged dirty looks.

"I have two marshmallows left. None of you kids jumped today." Chris said, looking at Beth, Katie and DJ. "You're the reason your team lost today's challenge."

"DJ." Chris tossed a marshmallow to the boy, relieving his nerves.

"Beth, Katie, this is it." Chris looked back and forth between the two girls. "And the final marshmallow goes to:"

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

"Beth."

"What?!" Beth gasped in astonishment that her team had chosen to eliminate Katie over herself.

"Your 'BFF' jumped without you. You lost the challenge because you can't do anything without her." Heather told Katie, who stood up, looking numb.

"Katie, it's time for you to walk the dock of shame and board the boat of losers!" Chris prompted.

"Can someone tell Sadie that I'll miss her?" Katie asked sadly as she left her teammates. "Tell her to win for me! I'll be rooting for her!"

"I will." DJ volunteered, waving the girl good-bye while trying to hide his relief that it was her and not him being eliminated tonight.

"Thank you!" Katie said, on the verge of tears as she boarded the boat that took her away from the island.

* * *

"What challenges will the contestants face next time on Total Drama Island?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Eliminated so far:**
> 
> 37th: Katie
> 
> * * *
> 
> **Still in the Game:**
> 
> **Screaming Gophers:**  Dawn, Alejandro, Staci, Ann Maria, Noah, Dakota, Justin, Cody, Trent, Zoey, Jo, Owen
> 
>  **Killer Bass:** Duncan, LeShawna, Geoff, Gwen, Heather, Lindsay, Harold, Beth, Tyler, DJ, Ezekiel
> 
>  **Thrashing Bears:** Sadie, Cameron, Brick, Eva, Courtney, Sierra, Scott, Beverly, Lightning, Sam, Izzy, Bridgette, Mike


	3. The Big Sleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The drama begins to intensify as the teens face the most brutal second challenge ever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Still in the Game:**
> 
> **Screaming Gophers:**  Dawn, Alejandro, Ann Maria, Staci, Noah, Dakota, Justin, Cody, Trent, Zoey, Jo, Owen
> 
>  **Killer Bass:** Duncan, LeShawna, Geoff, Gwen, Heather, Lindsay, Harold, Beth, Tyler, DJ, Ezekiel
> 
>  **Thrashing Bears:** Sadie, Cameron, Brick, Eva, Courtney, Sierra, Scott, Beverly, Lightning, Sam, Izzy, Bridgette, Mike

"Last time on Total Drama Island, our teens competed in their first challenge – a one thousand foot cliff dive into a shark infested lake, followed by a team building challenge." Chris said. "The teams struggled with some creative differences. The Bass clashed over attitude, Izzy smashed the Gophers' hot tub and the Bears hung Courtney in a tree! In the end, the Gophers scored a sweet hot tub party and the Bass sent Katie home. What challenges will these teens face this time on Total Drama Island?"

_**Cue theme song.** _

The sound of an airhorn caused Leshawna to sit up in alarm, and she banged her head on the bunk above her. "Ow!" Grabbing her forehead, she stalked over to the window. "It's seven in the morning! Do I look like a farmer to you?"

The campers dressed and assembled in front of the cabins, each looking very sleepy.

"Hope you slept well campers because your next challenge starts in exactly one minute!" Chris taunted, looking well rested.

"But that doesn't leave any time for breakfast!" Owen cried out in protest, looking alarmed.

"You'll get breakfast, Owen, don't worry." Chris said, and as soon as Owen looked relieved, he chuckled. "AFTER you complete a twenty kilometre run around the lake!"

"Oh, so you think you're funny now?!" Eva snarled, lunging at Chris. It was only due to the quick reactions of Silent B and Bass members Geoff and Duncan that were able to keep Eva from pummelling the show's host.

"Eva! Try to control your temper!" Courtney hissed, looking recovered from the injuries that she had sustained from the previous challenge.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?!" Eva demanded, glaring at Chris.

"A little bit." Chris commented smugly. He raised his arm and tapped the gold Rolex on his wrist. "You have thirty seconds!"

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Ok, that girl Eva has got to get a handle on her temper. She's only been here one day and she's already thrown her suitcase out a window and broken the lock on one of the bathroom doors." Courtney said._

* * *

"You guys are up early." Jo panted, arriving from a jog around the island.

"You guys are starting already?" Brick panted, arriving seconds behind the blonde.

"Where have you been?!" Courtney demanded, looking at Brick.

"I went for an early morning jog around the perimeter of the island, MA'AM." Brick responded, saluting the girl.

"And lost to a girl!" Jo sneered.

"Well I hope you didn't wear yourself out, because that's what today's challenge is!" Courtney told him, her hands on her hips.

"Losing to a girl?" Lightning asked, causing several members of his team to facepalm.

"I won't let my team down, MA'AM." Brick said.

"At ease, soldier." Courtney responded with a smile.

"Permission to stop looking like a dork, MA'AM!" Duncan said, mocking Brick's salute.

"Denied, delinquent freak." Courtney responded, rolling her eyes.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _So far, on my team I think Brick is the only one who's actually okay." Courtney said. "He respects my authority, unlike_ some  _people around here. But that punk on the other team, Duncan, is really starting to get on my nerves! Can't he just leave me alone?!"_

* * *

"Okay runners! On your marks! Get set!" Chris said, pausing for dramatic effect. "Go!"

Most of the campers took off running, while some instead chose to walk.

Chris rode after them on his red ATV, while speaking through a megaphone. "Pick up the pace campers! You're not back by dinnertime, you don't eat!"

"Nice work, scrawny!" Jo called to Noah as he passed her. She'd stopped and was glaring at Owen, who was passed out face-down in a puddle. "Come on Owen! Get up! You're going to be fine! Get get your butt in gear and start running!"

"Can't. . . . catch. . . . breath. . . ." Owen panted, licking the puddle. "Must. . . . have. . . . condition."

"Yeah, it's called over-eating, you should look into it." Heather said, flipping her hair as she passed the duo.

"Are you going to let her talk to you like that, Owen?" Jo demanded.

"Yes?" Owen answered uncertainly between gasps for breath.

"Wrong!" Jo shouted. "Are you going to let her talk to you like that?!"

"No?" Owen panted.

"That's the spirit!" Jo said. "So get up! Food's waiting for you on the other side! You like food, don't you Owen?"

"I can't do it." Owen gasped, beginning to sob.

"Yes you can!" Jo shouted. "And if you don't pick yourself up and try, I'm going to take my shoe and wedge it somewhere very painful!"

Owen winced fearfully and grunted in pain as he began to work on getting to his feet. Jo, who was tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for Owen to get up, only had to glance at Dakota as the girl walked by, and the girl put her cell phone away and took off at a jog.

"You wanna know who invented marathons?" Staci began, holding up her finger as though she was about to make an important announcement. "My great-great-great-"

"GET GOING!" Jo screamed at the brunette, who fell silent immediately and fled in terror.

"I can't run without Katie!" Sadie wailed. "I can't believe she's gone!"

"Come on Lady Lard! If we lose this challenge, I can personally promise that you will go home tonight!" Eva snarled at the girl. "So get moving!"

Sadie began to sob and took off at a run, her arms outstretched in front of her as she cried her eyes out.

* * *

"Someone clear a table! Stat!" Owen cried, rushing in with a collapsed Noah in his arms.

"Ugh, I made it." Leshawna said, collapsing on the floor as she entered the Mess Hall.

"I think I'm having heart palpitations!" Harold gasped, clutching his chest before tripping over Leshawna and doing a face-plant.

"Congratulations campers! You survived!" Chris said.

"We had our whole team here first!" Courtney announced gleefully. "We won the challenge!"

Chris laughed as the Bears cheered over their victory. "Not so fast campers. That wasn't the challenge."

"It wasn't?!" Eva snarled, looking about ready to lunge at Chris's throat. "Then why'd we have to do it?!"

"You'll find out in good time." Chris said evasively. "Is anyone hungry?"

He pulled a cord and it pulled the curtains away, revealing the most delicious looking and smelling food any of the contestants had seen in days.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _We've been eating brown sludge since we got here." Gwen said. "So when I saw that buffet table, I nearly cried."_

Static.

" _Food that can actually be classified under one of the food groups!" Cameron said gleefully, his eyes wide with joy._

Static.

" _There was turkey and mashed potatoes and cheese covered broccoli and stuffing and pancakes drowning in maple syrup and baked beans and corn on the cob and -" Owen began to sob. "I'm going to need a moment. Oohooo, oohooo, oohooo."_

* * *

The majority of the campers were moaning with the satisfaction of having stuffed themselves full of so much delicious food.

"Alright campers," Chris announced, appearing with a megaphone. "Time for part two of the challenge!"

"I thought eating was the second part." Owen said, his face smeared with gravy.

"What more can you possibly want from us?" Gwen asked, holding her full stomach.

"Ugh, weird goth girl is right." Heather said. "Haven't we been though enough?"

"Uh, let me think about that. No." Chris said facetiously. "It's time for the AWAKE-A-THON!"

"Awww, crap." Jo said with a growl, looking at her sleepy teammates.

"The what-a-thon?" Owen asked in confusion.

"Don't worry, this is an easy one. The team with the last camper standing wins invincibility!" Chris shouted through the megaphone.

"So what you're saying is that the 20k run and the glorious turkey eating frenzy was all part of your evil plant to make it harder for us to stay awake?" Gwen asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That's right, Gwen."

"Man, he's good." Gwen said with an irritated sigh.

"MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!" Chris bellowed through the megaphone, and the teens leaped to their feet and sprinted out of the Mess Hall if only to escape the painfully loud sound of Chris's voice.

"How long do you think before everyone's out cold?" Trent asked his teammate Zoey as they made their way from the Mess Hall.

"I don't know." she said with a shrug. "A couple of hours maybe?"

* * *

"We are now twelve hours into this challenge and all thirty-six campers are still wide awake." Chris's voice announced softly.

"WOOOHOOO! Stay awake for twelve hours! I can do that in my sleep! WOOOHOOO!" Owen shouted, looking around with wide eyes, before he froze completely. Then after a few seconds, his entire body crashed to the ground.

"How do you think the other team is holding up?" Trent asked, glancing around.

"I don't know, why?" Zoey responded, trying to stifle a yawn.

"No reason." Trent replied, also yawning.

Zoey smiled. "You like someone on the other team, don't you?"

"What?" Trent asked in alarm. "No, of course not!"

"It's okay you know." Zoey said in a soft voice. "I kind of do too."

"You what?" Trent asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You know that guy Mike on the Bears team?" Zoey whispered. "He loaned me his towel on the first day. He seemed really sweet."

"Aww, that's nice. You two would look really cute together." Trent said with a smile.

"You know, my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandmother was the first person ever to pull an all-nighter." Staci announced to her team.

"Nobody cares." Noah told Staci, clearly irritated.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _So my strategy is to get two other people to form an alliance with me and take to the final three. The only question is: who can I find that is either desperate or dumb enough to do whatever I say?" Heather told the confessional cam._

* * *

"What are you doing?" Gwen asked Lindsay, who was standing on her head.

"I'm trying to make all the blood rush to my head!" Lindsay answered, somehow managing to balance on her head. "I think it's working!"

"Ooh, can I try?!" Beth asked.

"Sure!" Lindsay answered, standing herself on her head.

"Perfect." Heather said. "Lindsay, Beth, can I talk to you for a sec?"

"Sure!" Lindsay answered. The duo quickly followed Heather to a spot a little ways away from the other campers.

"Okay, I have a plan to get me and two other people to the final three. And I chose you guys." Heather explained.

"Really?" Beth asked in shock.

"You should know this is a very big deal. I am placing my trust in you. And trust is a two-way street." Heather said, pausing as Beth and Lindsay nodded in agreement. "So you'll do everything I say?"

"Sure!" Lindsay replied eagerly. Then she turned to Beth. "EEEE! We're going to the final three!"

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Oh. My. Gosh. Heather is taking me to the final three! I'm going to the final three! I'm going to the final three!" Beth gushed in excitement. Then she paused to catch her breath and made a realization. "I wonder what will happen then."_

* * *

"Speaking of alliances, you know who I think is really cute?" Lindsay said to Beth, staring at Tyler.

"Oh no, you can't date him." Heather said.

"Why not?" Lindsay asked.

"It's against the alliance rules." Heather said.

"There are rules?" Lindsay asked.

"Remember what I just said about trust, Lindsay? Of course you can always leave the alliance, but then I can't protect you from getting voted off."

"No! I wanna be in the alliance!" Lindsay said.

"Good, then it's settled." Heather said, walking away.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Heather said I couldn't date him. She never said I couldn't_ like _him." Lindsay told the confessional camera._

* * *

"What are you staring at, Butterball?" Eva snapped, glaring at the dark haired girl.

"Oh! I didn't mean to!" Sadie cried out in response, looking at her feet. Then she looked up at Eva again, a mixture of admiration and terror in her eyes. "But. . . I was just wondering how you're so strong and how you're so good at doing stuff by yourself."

"It's called 'independence'. You should get some." Eva snarled as she put her MP3 player in her pocket and stood up. "I'm going to the bathroom."

"Oh my gosh! I have to go too!" Sadie said enthusiastically in response, standing up.

"Not so fast, Lady Lard." Eva growled. "Don't you dare follow me to the bathroom. If you've held it this long, you can hold it until I get back."

Sadie, disappointed, sat down again but continued to watch Eva. When Sadie noticed Eva's MP3 player fall out of her pocket, she stared at it.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I wasn't sure what to do! Eva would have been so mad if I'd touched her mp3 player, but I didn't want anyone to step on it! Katie would have known what to do! I miss Katie!" Sadie wailed. "Get a hold of yourself, Sadie!" The girl told herself, taking a deep breath. "So I figured that I'd just keep watching it and then tell Eva about it when she got back."_

* * *

Heather walked casually over to the fallen mp3 player, unaware that Sadie's gaze was trained upon that one spot. Pretending to stretch, Heather bent down and picked up Eva's mp3 player, while Sadie watched in horror.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I was so totally shocked when I saw Heather grab Eva's mp3 player! Doesn't she know how mad she'll get?" Sadie said. Then she seemed to consider another option. "Maybe she's going to give it to her when she gets back!"_

* * *

"Isn't that Eva's mp3 player?" Lindsay asked as Heather sat down beside her with the music player in her hands.

"Yep." Heather replied smugly.

"And isn't she going to be like  _really_  mad when she realizes that it's gone?" Lindsay asked.

"That's exactly what I'm counting on."

* * *

_40 hours into the challenge._

Sleep had taken several campers by the forty hour mark. Dakota, who was leaning up against a stump, obviously asleep although her sunglasses hid her closed eyes. Aside from Dakota, the Gophers had also lost Ann Maria, Jo and Alejandro. Bass members Geoff, DJ, Lindsay, Harold and Beth had fallen asleep. And a handful of Bears were still awake, not including Cameron, who had passed out shortly after Owen but before Dakota, and was curled up in the fetal position on the ground, and Izzy who was snoring peacefully on the ground.

The score was:

Gophers: 8

Bass: 6

Bears: 11

Courtney was jogging on the spot, trying to keep herself awake. Justin was standing stock-still, staring at some unknown object. Dawn was meditating while Trent and Zoey were chatting.

"Favourite song?" Zoey asked.

"She will be loved." Trent answered. "Favourite colour?"

"Uh. . . I think either red or lavender." Zoey said with a yawn.

"Don't fall asleep yet!" Trent said.

"I'm okay, really." Zoey answered sleepily.

"So, how long do you think the other teams will last?" Trent said, glancing over at the Killer Bass team.

"I don't know." Zoey yawned, following his gaze. "You like that goth girl on the Killer Bass, don't you?"

"What? No, of course not." Trent said, unconvincingly. Then he lowered his head and conceded defeat. "Yes."

"You should go talk to her." Zoey suggested.

"No, it's probably best if I don't." Trent replied.

"You never know. She might like you back." Zoey said with a shrug. "I'm hoping that Mike likes me back, even though we're on different teams."

"Well . . . ." Trent said, as though he was genuinely considering the idea. Then Owen walked by them, stark naked. Zoey and Trent's eyes grew wide as they realized, and their eyes moved in unison to the pile of clothes that he'd left behind. Then they looked after him again and saw his large, pale body disappearing into the woods.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Did I mention that I ate the entire dish of baked beans in maple syrup?" Owen asked the confessional camera. "Funny thing about baked beans: they make me sleepwalk."_

* * *

By the fifty hour mark, Beth and Lindsay had slid backwards off of their seats and were unconscious. Ezekiel and Leshawna had been lost by the Bass. Sadie, Brick and Lightning had also been lost by the Bears.

The score was:

Gophers: 6

Bass: 4

Bears: 8

Those campers who were still awake looked exhausted, with the exception of Dawn, who was still mediating and Sam, who was playing his video game. Sierra was laying on her stomach, staring longingly at the Gophers' group in a sleepy trance.

"Look at him, he's like a statue!" Zoey said as she and Trent studied Justin. "He hasn't moved in over fifty hours!"

"Yip! Yip!" Trent said, trying to distract him. He began waving his arms. "Yip! Yip! Yip! Yip!"

"Hello?" Zoey said, getting closer. "Amazing, just look at the concentration."

Then she poked his face and he moved his head around before opening his eyes, prompting both Zoey and Trent to gasp in shock.

"His eyelids are painted! I saw it!" shouted Eva, pointing at Justin.

"Shut up! Oh, I've gotta see this!" Chris said, rushing over. He studied Justin's eyes closely for a moment. "That is so freaking cool, but you're still out, dude."

Justin frowned while Zoey and Trent sat back down.

"I'm so tired." Zoey said with a yawn.

"Yeah, me too." Trent said.

Zoey sat up. "Trent, I'm going to do it."

"Do what?" he asked sleepily.

"I'm going to go over there and talk to Mike!" Zoey said confidently.

"You go girl." Trent said.

The redhead stood up and marched over to the Bears' group, seconds too late. Unfortunately what she found was Mike and Bridgette, who had been sitting next to one another when they had both succumbed to sleep, cuddled up together and very much asleep. Her eyes, which already felt like sandpaper because of her tiredness, began to sting as she fought back tears. Marching back over to where Trent sat, she sat on the ground with a sigh.

"How'd it go?" Trent asked. "What did he say?"

"Nothing, he was too busy cuddled up with Bridgette – I think her name's Bridgette, anyway." Zoey said, wiping her tears away with her palm.

"Oh, that sucks." Trent said.

"You should go talk to Gwen." Zoey whispered. "Now, before she finds someone else as well!"

"Alright, alright, I'm going." Trent said, getting to his feet. "What should I say?" When Zoey failed to respond, Trent turned to look at her. In the time it had taken him to stand up, Zoey had fallen asleep. "I guess I'm on my own then."

Taking a deep breath, Trent walked over to where Gwen sat, and sat down beside her.

"Aren't you on the other team?" Gwen asked sleepily.

"Yeah, but all the conversationalists on my team are sleeping. I need new company. Mind if I chill with you?" Trent said.

Gwen shrugged and smiled. "Go ahead."

* * *

_84 hours have passed since the challenge began._

The score was:

Gophers: 2

Bass: 3

Bears: 3

Duncan bent down and dropped Harold's fingers into a cup of warm water. Then he began to laugh. "Aw, gross! It works! Dude peed his pants!"

Harold gasped as he woke up to the sound of Duncan laughing and sat up to hide his wet trousers in panic.

"You feel the need to act out to get attention from your parents, don't you?" Dawn said, opening one of her eyes to look at Duncan.

"What? No." Duncan said with a glare at the blonde while Harold snorted with laughter. "Who are you: my juvie counsellor?"

Meanwhile, Noah woke up and began screaming almost immediately – in Cody's ear – when he realized that somehow they'd ended up snuggling together and he'd been kissing what he was now screaming into. Noah's screaming inevitably woke Cody up, who soon realized why his teammate was screaming and began to scream as well, before both boys took off running in opposite directions.

Mike and Bridgette had an equally awkward awakening. The smile on Bridgette's face disappeared when she realized that she was using Mike's chest as a pillow and when she moved to try and get away before Mike woke up and made the situation more awkward, she accidentally woke Mike up. Both felt too awkward to say anything to the other about how they'd woken up, and so stood there for a moment in an extremely awkward silence, both blushing deeply and avoiding eye contact with one another.

"So. . ." Mike began at last.

"I gotta go." Bridgette and Mike said in unison.

"Right." Mike said.

"Okay then." Bridgette said at the same time, before they walked away from one another, feeling just as awkward as they had before.

"What is the matter with you people? Fall asleep already!" Chris taunted those who hadn't fallen asleep yet, arriving with a coffee. In seconds, Gwen was in front of him, tripping in her sleepy stupor and ending up begging on her knees.

"You gotta hook me up, man! I'll even eat the grinds!" Gwen begged, reaching up towards Chris's coffee cup in desperation. "Anything!"

"Alright, you eight stay with me." Chris said to those campers who had managed to stay awake. "The rest of you – go and shower for Heaven's sake! You stink!"

Harold, not needing to be told twice, sprinted away.

Chris took a sip of his coffee before beginning to speak. "I didn't want it to come to this. I said that to Chef Hatchet last night. I said: Chef, I don't it to come to this, but darn-it, these campers are tough! So I've come up with the most boring, sleep-inducing activity I can find."

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Oh come on, what now?!" Gwen asked. Then she turned to glare at the camera. "Okay, you know what? Bring it on."_

* * *

"The history of Canada: a pop-up book." Chris announced, opening a large book. "Chapter one: the beaver. A national symbol and a 'dam' fine hat."

The remaining campers groaned at the awful pun.

* * *

In less than an hour, the group was down to four players, one Gopher, two Bass and one Bear: Dawn, Duncan, Gwen and Sam respectively.

"Alright, time for a bathroom break. Any takers?" Chris asked.

"I've held it this long, sweetheart, I can go all day." Duncan said tauntingly.

"But can you hold it another  _ten_  chapters?" his teammate Gwen asked.

Duncan's eyes grew wide and he jumped up. "Fine."

"You've got five minutes." Chris said. "As long as you don't mind a little company."

"Alright, fine, but stay out of the stall!"

* * *

An intern handed Chris a note. "And we have news! It looks like Duncan has taken a dive on the can!"

Dawn, still in a meditating position, suddenly flopped backwards. Seconds later, Gwen passed out as well, falling face-first into the dirt.

"It looks like we've got a winner!"

"Yeah, I beat the game!" Sam said victoriously, looking up from his video-game. "Hey, where did everyone go?"

"Sam, you won the challenge!" Chris said.

"Score!" Sam said.

"The Thrashing Bears win!"

* * *

"Grahh!" Eva growled, tearing the sheets off of her bed and ripping things out of her suitcase as she searched for it. "I can't find my mp3 player! I need my music!"

"Heather  _didn't_  give it back to you?" Sadie asked in alarm.

" _What_  did you just say?" Eva asked, turning on Sadie who cowered in fear.

"Y-you dropped it l-last n-night! On y-your way t-to the bathroom! H-Heather picked it up!" Sadie explained in terror. "I t-thought she was going to k-keep it s-safe and g-give it b-back to you!"

"Heather?!" Eva snarled.

Sadie nodded fearfully. "She picked it up right after you dropped it, I think she saw it fall out of your pocket."

Eva clenched her fists, and when Sadie flinched, Eva forced a smile and roughly patted Sadie on the top of her head. "You did good, kid."

Then Eva stormed out of the cabin.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Eva, you are so going down!" said Heather's voice from behind a bag of frozen peas. Heather lowered the bag for a moment to reveal a chipped tooth, bruised cheeks, two black eyes and a swollen, bloodied lip. "Ow! I'll get you back for this!"_

* * *

"Gophers, welcome to your first campfire ceremony." Chris said. "Here at camp, marshmallows represent life. Whoever doesn't hear their name called tonight doesn't get a marshmallow, and whoever doesn't get a marshmallow has to walk the dock of shame, take the boat of losers and you are out of the game, forever. And you can't come back, ever."

"My great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather-" Staci began.

"Let me guess: 'invented marshmallows'?" Noah said, glaring at the girl.

"You've heard of him?" Staci asked, looking surprised.

"No, a lucky guess." Noah said sarcastically.

"Dawn, Trent, Zoey, Cody and Jo."

The five campers hurried up to claim their marshmallows.

"Alejandro, Ann Maria, Noah and Dakota."

The next four campers grabbed their marshmallows eagerly while the remaining two campers, Owen and Staci, exchanged looks.

"And the last marshmallow goes to:"

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

"Owen!"

"What? Why?" Staci asked. "He was the first one to fall asleep!"

"Yeah, but you're always the last to shut up." Noah said.

"Staci, it's time for you to walk the dock of shame and take the boat of losers-"

"My great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather invented boats. Before him-"

"WE DON'T CARE!" shouted Staci's entire team as Chef arrived and pushed the girl down the end of the dock and onto the boat.

"Have a good night's sleep tonight, Gophers, you're all safe. . ." Chris said. "For now."

* * *

"That's another camper down. Thirty-five contestants remain in the game, thirty-four left to eliminate until we can crown a winner! Who will get the boot next time on Total Drama Island?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Eliminated so far:**
> 
> 37th: Katie
> 
> 36th: Staci
> 
> * * *
> 
> **Still in the Game:**
> 
> **Screaming Gophers:**  Dawn, Alejandro, Ann Maria, Noah, Dakota, Justin, Cody, Trent, Zoey, Jo, Owen
> 
>  **Killer Bass:** Duncan, LeShawna, Geoff, Gwen, Heather, Lindsay, Harold, Beth, Tyler, DJ, Ezekiel
> 
>  **Thrashing Bears:** Sadie, Cameron, Brick, Eva, Courtney, Sierra, Scott, Beverly, Lightning, Sam, Izzy, Bridgette, Mike


	4. The Shark in the Water

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first two challenges might have been brutal, but it's really the third challenge that may kill our campers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to dedicate this chapter to Fanfiction.net user MickeyMcFinnigan who suggested this idea for a challenge! It's based off of the Survivor: Gabon Lake Launch immunity challenge. However, I have modified it, and with some suggestions from MickeyMcFinnigan, we think it's Total Drama Universe worthy.
> 
> * * *
> 
> **Still in the Game:**
> 
> **Screaming Gophers:**  Dawn, Alejandro, Ann Maria, Noah, Dakota, Justin, Cody, Trent, Zoey, Jo, Owen
> 
>  **Killer Bass:** Duncan, LeShawna, Geoff, Gwen, Heather, Lindsay, Harold, Beth, Tyler, DJ, Ezekiel
> 
>  **Thrashing Bears:** Sadie, Cameron, Brick, Eva, Courtney, Sierra, Scott, Beverly, Lightning, Sam, Izzy, Bridgette, Mike

"Last time on Total Drama Island, the teens battled the most intense challenge yet: the Awake-a-thon!" Chris announced. "After taking a 20k run around the island and then giving them a luxurious turkey dinner, our tougher competitors managed to survive for  _eighty-some_  hours without falling asleep! Sam won the challenge for the Bears, Sadie rescued her team from Eva's wrath and Heather ended up with a mosaic of bruises and a bloody lip! In the end, the Gophers sent Staci home because she wouldn't shut up. What will happen tonight on Total Drama Island?"

_**Cue theme song.** _

The campers were assembled in the Mess Hall, the Gophers and the Bears looking significantly more well-rested than the Bass were. Both Gwen and Duncan had their faces on the table and were sleeping.

"Gwen, Duncan, you guys look like crap." Chris said.

"Stuff it." Duncan said, glaring at the host.

"Harold snored all night." Heather said in irritation.

"I'm so tired, I can't even feel my face." Gwen said, before her head fell against the table once more.

"Wow. Four days with no sleep, how much are you hurting?" Chris taunted.

Duncan glared at him. "Wanna find out?"

As everyone on Duncan's team, save Gwen – who had fallen asleep, dove under the table, Chris put his hands up defensively. "No, no, it's cool."

A unified gasp from the entire Bass table announced Harold's arrival. The two other teams stared at him and the graffiti that had been marked on his face with a black marker as he passed.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I must thank Harold for his unwitting assistance in giving the Gophers the edge in today's challenge." Alejandro said._

Static _._

" _That's it Harold. Once you start-" Heather yawned. "-messing with my sleeping-" Another yawn. "-patterns, you're gone." Heather's speech was punctuated by yet another yawn._

* * *

As Harold took his seat at the Bass table, the entire hall burst out laughing at him.

"Okay, what?" Harold asked at last.

"Someone messed with your face, dude." Geoff said.

Harold picked up a spoon and admired the black scribble moustache that had been drawn on his upper lip. "Hey, sweet 'stache."

"Hey everyone! It's Sam!" Chris announced as the gamer walked in, still playing his video game console and not looking any more tired than he had before.

The Bears applauded as Sam walked to the table and took a seat beside Sierra, who was staring longingly at the Gopher's table.

"Let's go over the rules one more time." Heather said with a yawn. "Number one: I am the captain of this alliance so I get to make the rules. Number two?"

Lindsay and Beth thought for a moment before Lindsay answered. "Breaking the rules can result in getting kicked out of the alliance?"

"Good." Heather said with a nod. "Number three: I can borrow any of your stuff without asking, but my stuff is strictly off limits."

"I don't know about that last rule." Lindsay said.

"That's okay, I can change it." Heather said. "I can also find someone else to take to the final three with me." When both Lindsay and Beth shook their heads in horror, Heather seemed satisfied. "Good."

"Okay campers, your next challenge begins in ten minutes!" Chris said. "And be prepared to get wet!"

* * *

"Didn't we already do a challenge like this?" Courtney asked in irritation, looking up the thousand foot cliff from the base of the hill.

"You mean the one you chickened out on?" Eva growled.

"Welcome to challenge number three, campers!" Chris said. "Today's challenge is what I like to call the 'Canal of Doom'. Part one of this challenge involves a footrace to the top of the hill. The first team to the top will receive a bonus that will give them an advantage in part two of today's challenge!"

"Do we have to jump off the cliff again?" Courtney asked in apprehension.

"What do you mean  _again_? You didn't do it the first time!" Eva growled.

"You'll see." Chris said.

"Anyone who doesn't jump this time will get THROWN off, understand?!" Eva snarled at her team, who nodded in unison as they cowered in fear.

"Ready? Set! Go!" Chris said as quickly as he could.

The Bears were the least prepared for a sudden start and took a few seconds to realize that the race had begun.

* * *

"That was the most painful thing I have ever done in my life!" Sadie gasped, collapsing at the top of the hill.

"You did good, Butterball." Eva said. She'd spent the entire race running beside Sadie, shouting at her to move faster. Eva hadn't given the girl a choice other than to sprint up the hill.

"Congratulations Bass! You're first!" Chris said, handing them a rolled up tube of plastic and a block of butter. "Here's your bonus in the next challenge!"

"You've got to be kidding me. Butter?" Heather asked in disbelief.

"And a crazy carpet!" Chris said. Then he turned to motion at the three tubes at the edge of the cliff; one green, one orange and one purple – the three teams' colours. "One at a time, you will ride your team's water slide down to the lake. You'll then swim out to retrieve a covered number tile. You'll then race back to the top to tag your next swimmer. Once you've received your six tiles, the remaining teammates will use them to decode the lock on this chest that contains an axe to cut this rope, which will raise your team's flag. Bears, you're up two people so choose two to sit out."

"I'll sit out." Sierra volunteered, glancing over at the Gopher's team as though she was hoping for a chance to mingle with the other team.

"I think Sam should sit out too." Courtney said.

"Sam and Cameron are sitting this one out." Eva snarled. "B is decoding. Sierra, you're swimming."

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Ever since B fired me across the sky with that stupid contraption of his – which I am still going to get him back for – Eva has been treating him like he's our team's secret weapon or something." Courtney said angrily. "It's like she likes him or something."_

Static _._

" _Now that I've had the chance to evaluate the players on my team, it's time to start putting my strategy into action." Scott said. "And what's my strategy you ask? Lose. Whittle down the team to something I can manage. Then the other teams will underestimate me and by the time we're ready for the merge, they'll think I'm the weakest player, an easy target. But I'll tear that false sense of security right out from under them – they won't even know what hit them."_

Static _._

" _Eva's been really nice to me since I helped her find her missing mp3 player." Sadie said. "Or at least, she's been less mean to me. Except she yells at me a lot more during challenges."_

* * *

"Hey string bean, you're decoding." Jo said, nudging Noah roughly with her elbow.

"Oh yay, lucky me." Noah responded sarcastically, before walking to their team's decoding table.

"I'll use my mad skills to get our chest open!" Harold volunteered, rushing to the Bass's table as Leshawna unwrapped the butter and began to grease one side of the crazy carpet with it.

"Are you ready, campers?" Chris asked. Leshawna shoved the stick of butter into Heather's hand and rushed to the water slide, preparing the crazy carpet.

"You gonna chicken out of this one too, Princess?" Duncan asked, smirking at Courtney.

"Get set!" Chris said. Jo was up first for the Gophers.

"Not a chance." Eva answered for the brunette. "In fact, she's up first!"

"Go!" Chris said.

"What?!" Courtney asked in alarm as Eva shoved her towards the purple tube, which the girl tripped and fall face-first into. She screamed the entire way down.

* * *

Jo was several minutes ahead of the other two girls and tagged Justin immediately as she made her way to drop off the tile at Noah's table. Leshawna and Courtney both managed to make it back to the top of the hill, where they handed their tiles to their team's decoder before tagging Ezekiel and Scott respectively. Then, both Leshawna and Courtney collapsed.

"SHARK!" Scott's voice screamed up from the lake. Several of the teens rushed to the edge of the cliff where they saw Scott be pulled under the water, then moments later re-surface, swimming as quickly as possible.

"Looks like Scott's found the juvenile Megalodons that we imported just for this occasion!" Chris said with a laugh.

"Megalodons?!" Cameron asked in alarm. "But they're supposed to be extinct!"

Bridgette raised an eyebrow. "What's a Megalodon?"

"A giant prehistoric shark!" Harold answered. "Gosh!"

"Like a Great White?" Bridgette asked. "Once, I saw one of them swallow a surfer whole."

"No, bigger! Megalodons make Great White sharks look like goldfish!" Harold said.

"How big is big?" Mike asked uneasily.

"Try fifty feet long!" Cameron said before passing out from the shock.

"A fifty foot long shark?!" the entire group of remaining contestants repeated in response.

"Aww man am I glad that I went before they arrived!" Leshawna said, wiping a bead of sweat from her brow.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Owww." Scott moaned, rubbing his sore butt. Then, pulling out a massive shark tooth that was wedged in his behind, he studied it. "What the - a shark tooth?"_

Static _._

" _What is everyone's problem?" Courtney growled. "It's like everyone on my team is_ trying _to get me hurt!"_

* * *

Justin arrived back first, dropped off his tile and tagged Ann Maria. Ezekiel arrived minutes later to tag Heather, and eventually Scott made it back and tagged Sadie.

The gap between the Gophers and the two other teams began to widen as Ann Maria punched the Megalodon when it came after her. Trent managed to avoid the shark when Ann Maria tagged him. He tagged Zoey.

Despite the crazy carpet and the stick of butter, the Bass were still falling way behind the Gophers. Tyler, despite his bragging about how awesome of a swimmer he was, he still fell behind Lightning and Trent, and Gwen wasn't able to do much better when she was up against Zoey and Eva. The Bears were desperately trying to close the massive gap that Scott had created. With Lightning and Eva on their team, they were at least able to gain a few seconds back.

Zoey put her all into it, but on her way back to shore with her tile, was met by the massive sharks. It scooped her up in it's mouth, intent on swallowing her for lunch.

"ZOEY!" called her team from above.

"Let me go!" Zoey said. "Please!"

When the shark went to swallow her, Zoey grew increasingly desperate.

"I SAID 'LET ME GO'!" Zoey said, punching the top of the shark's mouth with all her might. In shock, it opened its mouth and Zoey escaped, jumping from inside the shark's mouth and back into the lake. When the shark went to try and take another bite out of her, Zoey kicked it in the face, and it stopped in its tracks. "Sorry! But I did ask you nicely!"

Gwen dropped into the water and swam for dear life while Zoey unintentionally distracted the sharks for her.

When Eva splashed into the water, she found herself immediately involved in a wrestling match with one of the sharks, the other sharks stopping seeking other prey to watch the intensifying battle. Eva was clinging to the shark's back, punching and kicking it with all her might, punishing it for trying to eat her. Meanwhile, she shark bucked and tossed in the water, trying to get the girl off its' back.

While Eva fought the shark, Zoey was able to extend the Gopher's lead by a few seconds. Managing to make it to the top of the hill, Zoey tagged Cody.

"Zoey, are you okay?!" Trent asked.

"Yeah, fine." The redhead said with a nod.

"Brick, you're up next." Courtney said.

"Why me?!" Brick asked in alarm. When Courtney responded with a glare, Brick raised his hand in a shaky salute and spoke with an even shakier tone. "Yes, ma'am!"

Eva beat Gwen to the top of the hill, starting to close the gap between the teams. Brick took a deep breath as he prepared to walk to the water slide. Cody hit the water and almost immediately began to scream in terror as the sharks surrounded him and prepared to eat him.

"Cody!" Sierra screamed, shoving Brick aside and stealing his tag from Eva, diving into the water slide before anyone could stop her.

"Oh great." Eva snarled, while both the Gophers and the Bears rushed to the edge of the cliff to watch Sierra take on the giant sharks. She was ruthless in punching and kicking the sharks until they spat out Cody. Then, she carried a shocked and shaking Cody to the shore and carried him up the cliff.

"Hurry Sierra!" Eva screamed at the violet-haired girl. "We're falling behind!"

When the duo reached the top of the hill, Cody accidentally tagged Owen, who dove headfirst into the water slide but didn't move. He wiggled around for a few moments.

"What are you waiting on, Owen?!" Jo screamed. "Get a move on!"

"Guys! I'm stuck!" Owen said. "A little help please?"

Jo frowned and shoved her teammate's butt, only to have him fart in her face.

"Gah!" Jo choked, collapsing on the ground, curled up in a fetal position as she hacked up a lung.

As Gwen arrived and tagged Duncan, the Bass took the lead, Eva shoved an apprehensive Brick over to Sierra to get tagged.

"Gwen, are you alright?" Trent asked, looking concerned.

"Yeah. Zoey and Eva distracted all the sharks for me." the goth girl responded.

Alejandro frowned and sauntered over to the Bass's team, stealing the remainder of the butter, which he quickly used to grease Owen's expansive waistline.

Owen still wasn't moving very much, and so Alejandro gave him a hard shove with his foot, but the overweight boy only farted in Alejandro's face as well. Alejandro collapsed on the ground, coughing like Jo. However, the gas was just enough to get Owen moving, and he began to slide down the water slide towards the water, increasing in speed every second.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Have I ever mentioned that when I get nervous, I get really gassy?" Owen asked, laughing nervously before proving his point with a loud fart._

Static.

_Heather entered the confessional, and her face turned green. She brought her hand to her face to hold her nose. "Let me guess: Owen was just in here."_

* * *

Owen's flatulence cleared the sharks from the area the moment he hit the water. Owen did his best to swim out to the last tile, while Eva grabbed Brick's arm, had Sierra tag him and threw him forcefully into the water slide. Duncan was ahead of them both, but Owen had the luck of his flatulence propelling him through the water.

* * *

Harold quickly unwrapped the tiles and began trying to figure out the combination for the lock, while Duncan used his pocket knife to start cutting threads to weaken the rope that they needed to cut to raise their team's flag.

"Lindsay, can I talk to you for a moment?" Heather asked, glaring at the blonde girl who had been busy flirting with Tyler.

"Okay!" Lindsay responded obediently.

"What are the rules of the alliance, Lindsay?" Heather asked.

"I can't  _date_  Tyler." the busty blonde responded solemnly.

"Good." Heather said. "Care to explain why you're still flirting with him?"

"I-" Lindsay began, looking upset. "I can't  _date_  him or  _like_  him?"

Heather thought for a moment. "Actually, Lindsay, I think you may be right. You can date Tyler-"

Lindsay gasped. "Really?"

"Really." Heather said. "But there's one teensy little condition."

"Okay, sure, anything!"

"You have to get him to vote with the alliance. He can't be in it, since my plan is only for the final three, not four, but if you want to date him, he has to vote with us."

"Okay, sure!" Lindsay said, nodding enthusiastically.

"Uh. . . thanks for saving me from those sharks, uh – it's Sienna isn't it?" Cody said.

"Sierra." the violet haired girl corrected.

"Oh, well thank you Sierra." Cody said.

"No problem, any time!" Sierra said.

"Well, I don't think I'll be swimming with the sharks again anytime soon, but thanks anyway."

"I think I love you." the girl blurted out.

"Oooooh-kay." Cody said, his eyes wide as he processed what the girl had said. "I think it's time for me to go now. I'm going to go and stand somewhere . . . that isn't near you."

"Okay! I'll see you later, Codykins!" Sierra said, waving to him.

He shuddered and muttered to himself as he walked away. "I hope not."

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I think I'd like a restraining order. Preferably_ now _. Sierra was nice and all to rescue me from those sharks, but then she hit a ten on the psycho scale." Cody said, shuddering. "I really hope she doesn't make it to the merge."_

* * *

"Bass have their flag up!" Chris announced.

"But how? They haven't even opened their chest yet!" Courtney protested. Duncan was looking smug and held his knife up for Courtney to see. The brunette frowned. "That's not fair, they cheated! They didn't even use the axe!"

"I said that the chests held an axe you  _could_  use, not you  _had to_  use." Chris said.

As Brick returned with the final tile for the Bears' team, B pulled out a knife from his trench coat to cut the rope with, but he was too late.

"Gophers get second!" Chris announced. Noah had cracked the code and used the axe to cut the rope in the time it had taken Courtney to complain about the Bass's methods. "Bears, I will see you tonight at your first campfire ceremony!"

* * *

"So. . ." Sadie said to her fellow campers as they sat at the Bears table in the mess hall. "What do we do now?"

"We have to figure out who we're gonna vote off." Courtney said, taking charge of the team.

"Lightning thinks you all should be voted off after your terrible performances in today's game!" the athletic boy stated.

"I think we should vote out B." Courtney said.

"What? Why?!" Eva growled.

"Why do you care so much?" Courtney asked. "Besides, if it he hadn't been so slow in getting that combination figured out-"

"It wasn't B's fault at all!" Eva snarled. "It was Brick's! If he hadn't been so slow in getting that last tile to B, we would have won!"

"You guys seem to be forgetting that everyone left me for  _shark bait_!" Brick said.

"Oh boohoo." Scott said, holding up the Megalodon tooth that he had dislodged from his butt cheek earlier that day. "You're not the only one who almost became a bite-sized snack."

"What about you!" Courtney said, pointing her finger at Scott. "You took your sweet time getting back up the hill!"

"Yeah! You destroyed any chance we had of getting the lead!" Eva growled.

"What about Sam or Cameron. They didn't even help." Scott countered.

"We weren't supposed to! You guys chose us to sit the challenge out!" Cameron argued, before his eyes got wide and he shrank back, almost as though he was afraid of his own outburst.

"Fine, what about Izzy, Mike and Bridgette?" Scott said. "They weren't chosen to sit out, and they didn't help either."

"I was ready to jump in next!" Bridgette said. "I'd have gone in Brick's place if Sierra hadn't jumped ahead!"

"We lost because Sierra had to butt ahead in the line!" Scott said.

"Hey! If I hadn't rescued Cody, he would have been shark bait for sure!"

"So basically, you all suck!" Eva snarled.

"Hey!" Courtney and Lightning protested in unison.

"What about you, temper tantrum?" Scott said, turning to Eva.

"What?!" Eva growled, enraged.

"Well, you can't control your temper." Scott said nonchalantly, while half of his team disappeared under the table to hide in fear.

Their fear was justified when Eva threw a punch at Scott so hard that she knocked him out of his seat and into the wall, four feet behind him.

"OW!" Scott complained, bringing his hand up to his quickly bruising eye. "See? That's exactly what I'm talking about!"

"Guys, this method isn't working!" Mike said, before gasping. "Aww, darnit! Just make a danged decision already!"

"That's what we're  _trying_  to do, Mike!" Courtney said, rolling her eyes.

"Mike?!" he said. "The name's Chester, Missy!"

"Excuse me?!" Courtney asked, not impressed. "Are you making fun of me?"

"Back in my day, we didn't need fancy reality t-v shows to get rich, we did just fine getting a regular job!" Mike said.

"This isn't funny!" Courtney said, glaring. "So just knock it off!"

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Oh, so now they're making fun of me?!" Courtney said. "I've just about had it with this team! B tried to kill me, Sierra is a nutcase and now Mike's making fun of me. Well, mark my words: they're all going down!"_

Static.

" _Okay, so either Mike is a really great actor, or there's something up. That old man skit? Yeah, I think Mike could have chosen a more appropriate time for a comedy routine – unless it's not a comedy routine." Bridgette told the camera. "Things have been super awkward between us since the Awake-a-thon. And by awkward, I mean if we even make eye contact, one of us leaves the room. We don't even like each other that way, which is why it's so awkward. But I'm pretty sure that Mike wouldn't do something to offend Courtney on purpose – right? I mean, he saw how angry it was making her, and I'm pretty sure he wouldn't do that on purpose."_

* * *

"B, I need to talk to you." Eva said, catching the boy as he made his way to the Bears' cabin.

The silent genius looked around and shrugged before following Eva a little ways away from the cabins, where they found Sadie waiting at the edge of the forest.

"I think we should form an alliance." Eva said.

"Oooh, good idea!" Sadie said in agreement.

B didn't look convinced. "We've already seen how divided our team is – that much was clear in the mess hall. I think that we need to decide who to vote out because if we let our team do it, we're going to lose good players because people are only going to vote together by chance."

B shrugged, then nodded his agreement.

"You agree? So you're in?" Eva asked.

B nodded again.

"Alright, I think we should vote out Brick tonight." Eva said.

"Yeah, he totally let the team down today." Sadie said in agreement.

B seemed to consider this for a little while, then held out his hands as if asking 'why?', before beginning to mime.

"I. . . don't understand." Eva said.

"Oooooh, I love charades!" Sadie said. "Katie and I play all the time!"

"What's he trying to say?" Eva asked as B took off his hat and began to touch the top of his head.

"Ok. . . hat? Head? Hair?" B gave Sadie the thumbs up, then made a sweeping motion. "Long hair?" B signed her another thumbs up. "Izzy? No, Bridgette? Sierra?" B stopped and gave her a thumbs up sign.

"Oooh, B is right." Sadie said. "Sierra did mess things up for us today!"

* * *

"Mike, we need to talk." Bridgette said.

"About. . . the Awake-a-thon?" Mike guessed.

"No, about dinner today." The blonde said, taking a seat beside him on the steps. "What was up with the whole Chester routine?"

"Chester?" Mike repeated, his face filled with dread.

"Yeah, Chester."

"Well, uh. . . I, uh – I'm an actor!" Mike said. "That was just one of the characters I've been working on."

"Couldn't you have chosen a better time to show everyone?" Bridgette said. "I mean, you're a great actor – you got really into character, it's just I think you could have timed the whole performance better. Courtney was getting  _really_  upset over the whole thing."

"Really?" Mike asked.

"Are you sure you're acting, and there's not something else going on?"

"I-" Mike began, then he looked down at his feet. "Promise you won't judge me."

"I promise."

"Okay, so I have this quirk-"

Bridgette raised an eyebrow. "Define 'quirk'."

Mike leaned over and whispered in the girl's ear. "I have multiple personality disorder."

Bridgette's eyes went wide for a moment. "I think you should tell Courtney."

"I would rather not." Mike said. "It's really not something I'm proud of, I don't really want to go around telling people."

"She thought you were making fun of her tonight at dinner. I think she's probably going to try and vote you off."

"I-" Mike began, then he shook his head. "No, I can't do it yet, Bridgette. I'm not ready for everyone to know."

"Not everyone, just Courtney."

"No, I don't think I'm up to that just yet."

"Okay, it's your choice."

"Promise me you won't tell anyone."

"You have my word."

* * *

"Welcome, Bears, to your first elimination ceremony!" Chris said. "The two other teams know the procedure already – if you get a marshmallow, you're still in the game. One camper won't get a marshmallow tonight. That camper will be the one that you have voted for, the one you have chosen to go home. Once the marshmallows have been given out, the eliminated camper will walk the dock of shame and take the boat of losers and leave the island. That means you're out of the contest. And you can't come back. Ever."

"Bridgette. Sadie. Izzy. Scott."

The four named campers stood up to receive their marshmallows.

"Lightning, Cameron, Sam, Eva."

The next four campers stood up to claim their marshmallows.

"Courtney, Mike, B."

Courtney glared as B received his marshmallow.

"Sierra, Brick, you are the bottom two tonight. The final marshmallow of the night will be going to. . ."

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

"Brick."

"What?!" Sierra asked in shock. "I have to say good-bye to Cody!"

"No you don't." Chris said, but when Sierra tried to bolt towards the Gophers' cabin to say goodbye, she was stopped by Chef, who captured her and dragged her down the dock of shame.

"Bye Sierra!" Cody called, coming out of hiding as the boat began to drive away.

"You came to say goodbye to me?!" Sierra asked in excitement.

"Yeah, something like that." Cody said. "Have a nice trip!"

"Bye Codykins!" Sierra called. "I'll miss you!"

As the boat took Sierra out of sight, Cody turned to Scott. "Thank you so much for voting her out for me."

"Oh, it was no problem,  _pal_." Scott said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Eliminated so far:**
> 
> 37th: Katie
> 
> 36th: Staci
> 
> 35th: Sierra
> 
> * * *
> 
> **Still in the Game:**
> 
> **Screaming Gophers:**  Dawn, Alejandro, Ann Maria, Noah, Dakota, Justin, Cody, Trent, Zoey, Jo, Owen
> 
>  **Killer Bass:** Duncan, LeShawna, Geoff, Gwen, Heather, Lindsay, Harold, Beth, Tyler, DJ, Ezekiel
> 
>  **Thrashing Bears:** Sadie, Cameron, Brick, Eva, Courtney, Sierra, Scott, Beverly, Lightning, Sam, Izzy, Bridgette, Mike


	5. Dodgebrawl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for a Total Drama twist on a summer camp favourite - dodgeball!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Teams:**
> 
> **Screaming Gophers:**  Dawn, Alejandro, Ann Maria, Noah, Dakota, Justin, Cody, Trent, Zoey, Jo, Owen
> 
> **Killer Bass:** Duncan, LeShawna, Geoff, Gwen, Heather, Lindsay, Harold, Beth, Tyler, DJ, Ezekiel
> 
> **Thrashing Bears:** Sadie, Cameron, Brick, Eva, Courtney, Scott, Beverly, Lightning, Sam, Izzy, Bridgette, Mike

"Last time on Total Drama Island, the teams battled it out on a water slide and with some prehistoric sharks that we imported specially for this challenge!" Chris said from the rebuilt Wawanakwa dock. "The Bass won an advantage in the first part of the challenge, but the Gophers quickly took the lead. The Bears fell behind in the first part and struggled to make it up. The Gophers lost their lead when Cody almost got eaten by a giant, prehistoric shark, and Sierra set the Bears back when she dove in to rescue him! Owen managed to regain the Gopher's lead when he became a fart-powered rocket but in the end, the Bass claimed victory and the Bears sent Sierra home! What challenges await these teens today on Total Drama Island?"

_**Cue theme song.** _

The sky was an inky blue, with the silver moon hovering over the horizon. The sky dappled with stars, speckling the dark sky with tiny lights. The night was beautiful. The birds were peaceful in their nests and the bears were peaceful in their dens. Even the Sasquatches were peaceful in their cave. The night was peaceful.

Except in the Killer Bass cabin.

Harold's snores, obnoxiously loud, were keeping up all of his teammates, both on the male side and female sides of the Killer Bass cabins. And for some of them - five nights with no sleep was just unacceptable, and as for the others, well they were just growing increasingly irritable.

"That's it." Gwen said, swinging her legs out the bed and getting up.

"Where are you going?" Heather asked, too tired to be rude to the goth girl.

"To deal with Harold." Gwen said, also too tired for insults, as she slipped out of the girl's side of the Killer Bass cabin.

Slipping into the boy's side of the cabin, Gwen quickly found the bed of the camper she wanted, and walked over to him. The shadow that she cast in the moonlight from the window was enough to catch his attention.

"What?" he demanded, turning to glare at her.

"I need your help."

"I'm trying to sleep."

"So are the rest of us, dude." Geoff said from a nearby bunk.

"I know. And once you help me, you will be able to sleep."

"Alright, fine." he said, throwing his covers off and swinging his legs out of the bed. "What do you want, pasty?"

"I like to call this one a 'rude awakening'." she said, motioning him over to Harold's bed. Carefully they picked up the snoring nerd. Geoff held the door open as Duncan and Gwen carried the nerdy boy down to the dock, where they dropped him into the water.

As Harold awoke, spluttering and thrashing around in the water, Gwen and Duncan took off running for the cabin. Her in her black tank top and pyjama shorts, and him wearing nothing but a pair of black pyjama pants, they hurried up the steps of the Killer Bass Cabin.

"Wedge a chair under the door handle so he can't get in." Duncan instructed.

"Okay, sleep well." Gwen replied as she disappeared into the girl's side of the cabin.

Before crawling back into bed, she did as he'd suggested and wedged a chair up under the door handle so that it wouldn't open.

* * *

A thunderous crash and a screech of profanities woke up not only the peacefully sleeping Killer Bass but the Thrashing Bears and the Screaming Gophers as well.

On her way to the communal washrooms for an early morning shower, Heather had tripped and fallen over a sleeping Harold, who had fallen asleep on the steps of the Killer Bass cabin after he'd discovered that the cabins doors had been locked.

"Harold, fancy seeing you here." Duncan said, exchanging a smirk with Gwen, which Courtney observed with a dark look. Both Duncan and Gwen looked significantly more well rested than they had before, but neither was yet back to normal.

Gwen yawned, before she too began to smirk. "How'd you end up out here?"

"Heather, I didn't know you were into scrawny dorks." Duncan said as the Asian beauty tried to untangle herself from Harold and reclaim her dignity by storming off towards the showers.

"Harold, I'm going to kill you!" Heather snarled.

"It's not my fault! He locked me out of the cabin!"

"Well why didn't you go elsewhere to sleep instead of on the steps?!"

"I didn't have my glasses on, GOSH!" Harold said. "It took me like three hours to find my way back to the cabin at all!"

At this, Duncan burst out laughing.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Pasty made last night great and this morning even better. Dumping Harold in the lake was fun, but this morning just put the cherry on top!" Duncan told the confessional camera, laughing hysterically._

Static.

" _Okay, so I feel so bad for asking Scott to get his team to vote out Sierra, but when she told me that she loved me, it really freaked me out and I panicked." Cody said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "And also, her being here would have completely ruined my chances with Gwen."_

Static.

" _So far, I have documented three separate personalities within Mike. He's like a walking, talking psychology textbook!" Cameron told the camera as he adjusted his glasses. "And it's a total page-turner!"_

* * *

"Okay campers, listen up!" Chris said, clapping his hands to get the attention of the teens in the mess hall. "Your next challenge begins in ten minutes! And be prepared to bring it!"

"Oh yay, more life threatening 'games'." Noah said sarcastically from behind his book.

"What?! But Lightning hasn't had his DPA!" the boy protested, and when his teammates gave him strange looks, he clarified. "Daily Protein Allotment, duh!"

"Why do you always refer to yourself in the third person?" Courtney asked.

"Third person?! Lightning is the first person! Lightning is always first!"

"Actually, third person means -" Courtney stopped and sighed, shaking her head. "Never mind, forget I asked."

"I haven't had enough beauty sleep!" Dakota whined.

"Come on, you look -" Sam said as Dakota took off her sunglasses to reveal the dark bags under her very bloodshot eyes. "GREAT SUNS OF ORION!"

"You can catch up on your sleep after the challenge!" Chris said. "Right this way!"

Dakota put her cell phone to her ear. "Hey, it's me. We're starting the next challenge in ten-" Before she could finish her conversation, Chris used a magnet on a fishing line to take away her cell phone, shortly followed by Sam's hand held gaming console.

"Hey!" Sam and Dakota protested in unison.

"Contraband!" Chris taunted. "Now it's mine; confiscator's keepers!"

* * *

As the teens made their way towards the location of that day's challenge, Sam walked beside Dakota.

"Hey Dakota, sorry about before. I was just so taken by your beautiful nostrils." Sam said. His eyes went wide while Dakota winced.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Nostrils?" Sam said. "Nostrils?!"_

* * *

"Thanks." Dakota replied. "I like your. . . uh. . . can I get back to you on that?"

She walked away while Sam slumped over in disappointment.

* * *

The dodgeball court was in a large, clear box that looked like a gym with glass walls, and had bleachers running along the full length of the far wall. Duncan was one of the last people to arrive, and he passed out of the nearest set of bleachers shortly after threatening his teammates. "Wake me up and it'll be the last thing you ever do."

"I'm with him." Gwen said, sitting down on the opposite side of the bleachers and falling asleep.

"This is all your fault, you know!" Heather snarled, pointing at Harold. "You and your obnoxious snoring!"

"It's called a medical condition, GOSH!" Harold responded.

"Well maybe you should go home and get some medical help!" Heather responded, before she yawned.

Chef silenced them by loudly blowing his whistle. He said nothing as he walked across the court, giving dirty looks at the contestants.

"Today's challenge is the classic game of dodgeball!-" Chris began before Leshawna cut him off.

"What's the catch?" the loud and proud sister asked, her hands on her hips.

"What catch?" Chris asked.

"Yeah - are we playing with bowling balls?" Courtney piped up.

"Or rocks?" Trent asked.

"Or cannon balls?" Geoff asked.

"Or bombs?" Harold suggested.

"Or a rabid armadillo?" Beth asked. When her fellow campers gave her funny looks, she shrugged. "Don't tell me that you guy'th have never theen Path to D'orville."

"All excellent suggestions, but this is just a plain old dodgeball game." Chris said with a frown. "The studio had some complaints with the last challenge and told us we have to 'tone it down', so you guys get a boring old game of classic dodgeball!"

"You sure there's not some catch?" Heather asked suspiciously.

"Yeah, like the balls being filled with boiling water." Zoey suggested.

"Or sulphuric acid." Noah said.

"Or spikes of some sort." Scott said as he whittled at a piece of wood with his shark tooth. "That come out when we catch the ball."

"Nope, just plain old regular air-filled rubber dodgeballs." Chris said, rolling his eyes before muttering. "Unfortunately."

"Something safe? Sounds too good to be true!" Leshawna said while the rest of the cast cheered and exchanged high fives.

"Anyway, like I was saying before: the first rule of dodgeball is-" Chris said.

"Do not talk about dodgeball?" Noah said, causing Owen to laugh.

"As I was saying: if you get hit with the ball, you're out." Chris said, throwing the ball and hitting Courtney in the stomach, but she managed to catch the ball and hold on to it.

"Ow! You can't just do that!" Courtney said, whipping the ball back at Chris.

Chris caught the ball. "If you catch the ball, the thrower gets sent out and the catcher gets to bring out another team member out on the court."

"Throwing balls, gee another mentally challenging test." Noah said.

"I know, right?" Lindsay said, not catching onto Noah's sarcastic tone.

"Okay. Now, Geoff, try to hit me!" Chris said as he tossed a ball to the blonde party boy. "If you're holding a ball, you can use it to deflect a ball, but if it knocks the ball out of your hands, you're out."

"So what do I do again when the ball comes at me?" Lindsay asked as Geoff threw the ball at Chris.

"You dodge!" Chris said, deflecting the ball and hitting Lindsay in the face with it, knocking her flat on her back. "Ooooh, you were  _supposed_  to dodge!"

"Oowwww, right." Lindsay said, standing up and taking her hand off of her forehead, where a goose-egg had already formed where the ball had hit her.

"One minute until game time. Bears, you will have to sit one person out each round. Each game will be five-on-five at the start, and each team will play six games each, three against each of the other teams." Chris said. "First round will be Gophers versus Bass!"

* * *

"Ann Maria, Trent, Justin, Alejandro and I will be out first." Jo said.

"I have to sit out? What a shame. But I guess I can take one for the team, if you insist." Noah said, sounding not at all disappointed about having to sit out.

"What about me?" Owen asked. "I'm actually really good at this game."

"Yeah, don't you think it might be beneficial to us to mix up the teams instead of just throwing out everyone who  _looks_  like they might be good at the game in the first round?" Cody said.

"Munchkin, you could be right." Jo said. "But, that doesn't matter. If you and Owen are good at dodgeball, then you guys will be our secret weapons. Don't worry, I have a plan."

* * *

**Confessional**

"Munchkin _? Seriously?! I'm not_ that _short!" Cody said, his arms crossed to display his obvious irritation with Jo's choice for a nickname._

* * *

"Bring it on, fishies! Otherwise kicking your butts again just won't be as satisfying!" Jo sneered, egging the other team on.

"Oh! You're going down!" Tyler said, his brown eyes wide with anger. "We're gonna bring the dinner to the table, and then we're gonna eat it!"

"Oooh, you tell 'em, white boy." Leshawna said, trying not to laugh at Tyler's pathetic attempt to trash talk the other team, while Geoff and Gwen just facepalmed.

"Come on, fluffy rats, you really think we're concerned? How humiliating is it going to be for you guys when you lose to us twice in a row?" Heather taunted the Gophers.

Owen jumped up from the bench, infuriated. "WE ARE NOT FLUFFY RATS! WE ARE GOPHERS!"

"Both teams ready?" Chris said. "Best of six games wins! Now, let's dodge some balls!"

Chef blew his whistle to signal the start of the game.

Alejandro, Jo and Ann Maria held the balls on the Gopher's side, while Heather, Leshawna and Tyler had the balls for the Bass's side.

Ann Maria threw her ball and Tyler barely managed to dodge in time. Frowning, he went to hit her out instead, but instead of simply aiming and throwing, he began to spin around and around with the ball and then unleashed its inertia power. However, instead of hitting any of the Gophers out, he slammed Lindsay in the face, knocking her off the bleachers.

"You wanna try hitting someone on the other team instead?" Heather asked, raising an eyebrow at her teammate, but before he could pick up the ball to try again, Jo slammed him out with the ball she'd been holding with such force that he hit the back wall.

"Time to unleash my mad skills." Harold said.

"You show 'em what you've got, string bean!" Leshawna encouraged her teammate.

"Bring it, King o' the Dorks." Jo said, stepping forward.

Harold did some kind of ninja poses, then threw the ball, but it only made it two feet in front of him before it hit the ground and rolled over the centre line to Jo's feet. Jo picked it up and slammed Harold out while he screamed like a little girl.

Alejandro hit Gwen out before Heather hit him out, and Leshawna got both Trent and Ann Maria. Then Heather hit Justin out as well, leaving Jo against Leshawna and Heather.

All the balls on her side of the court now, Jo picked them up one by one and slammed the other team into submission, singlehandedly. She threw one ball at Leshawna, which the girl was able to dodge, but while she wad distracted dodging the first ball, the second one hit her in the stomach. Heather went out the same way.

* * *

"We can do this, we just have to believe in ourselves!" Harold said.

"Oh, I believe." Heather said. "I believe you suck!"

"Yeah, you throw like a girl!" Tyler said.

"What's the supposed to mean, trash talker?" Leshawna asked, raising an eye brow at Tyler, who flinched. Ezekiel, who had been laughing at Tyler's comment, fell silent immediately.

"You should talk!" Heather said, crossing her arms as she looked at Tyler.

"That was just a warm up shot!" Tyler said. "Look, I can dominate this game! Just give all the balls to me!"

Chef blew the whistle again to signify that another game was about to start.

"Fine, but try to aim for the other side, okay?" Heather said. "Alright, who's playing next?"

"Bears, pick your players!" Chris said. "Bass, I want the same players back in!"

"You've got to be kidding me." Heather said, rubbing her forehead. "Harold, just stay in the back and try to sty out of the other players' ways."

* * *

"He didn't let the Bass change their team." Courtney commented to her team as they discussed who they were going to send out. "We should send in only our best players in case it's going to be the same teams for all the rounds."

"In that case, we're sending in our strongest players: Lightning, Brick and myself." Eva said. "And I guess Izzy and B as well."

"Hey! What about me?" Courtney called as half of her team walked onto the court. "You didn't even ask who was any good at dodgeball!"

Chef blew the whistle and the game began.

Tyler had all four balls and began his spinning routine again, whirling 'round and 'round, faster and faster until he finally began to fire the balls. The first hit Chef in the gut. The second barely missed Chris.

"Hey! Watch the face, dude!" Chris screamed.

The next one cleared the Screaming Gophers off of the bleachers.

"Hey! Take it easy!" Dakota called.

* * *

Zoey and Trent, who had been sitting next to one another and chatting when Tyler's murder ball came flying their way, both dove out of its path. Trent tripped and ended up in the bleacher's footrest, his body pressed close against Zoey's.

Both stared at one another in wide-eyed shock for a moment, before they realized what had happened, and their faces flushed red with embarrassment. In unison they both apologized. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!"

"No, it's my fault." Trent said. "I'm really sorry."

"It's not your fault – it was an accident." Zoey said.

"Still – when I tripped, I brought you down with me." Trent said.

"No, it's fine, really." Zoey said said, moving to sit up at the same time that Trent did, and they bumped heads.

"Ow!" the said in unison. "Sorry. No, it's fine, really."

"We need to get up." Zoey said, her cheeks flushing even brighter red as she came to terms with how close she and Trent were. "As soon as possible."

"Yeah." Trent said, also blushing deeper. "I agree."

"You first." Zoey said.

"Okay." Trent said, shifting to try and get up. "Uh. . . you're laying on my arm."

"Oh! Sorry!" said Zoey, even more embarrassed as she shifted to try and free Trent's arm.

His arm now free, Trent tried to get up again, but roughly bumped his shoulder on the lip of the bleacher seat. "Ow, my shoulder. This isn't going to work. I think we're stuck."

"No, we just have to figure this out." Zoey said. "Uh. . . this is going to be so awkward, but try rolling on top of me."

"What?!" Trent asked, his green eyes wide with alarm.

"Roll on top of me and you'll be able to get up." Zoey repeated. "It's probably going to be more awkward if we stay like this."

"Okay, I guess you're right." Trent said awkwardly.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Thank you Tyler." Heather said, looking sly. "You've been such a great help to me."_

* * *

Gwen snorted awake suddenly from a between-game nap, her eyelids fluttering as she tried to remember where she was. Finding herself on the bleachers instead of in her bed, she sat up, yawning as she tried to stretch. Glancing at the game, it appeared that she'd missed the end of the first match because the Bears were on instead of the Gophers now.

Sitting up straight, she looked around, glancing over to the Gopher's team. At the awake-a-thon challenge, she'd met a really cute guy on the Screaming Gopher's team, and she was crushing on him,  _big time_. And she was pretty sure that the conversation that they'd had at the awake-a-thon had involved flirting from both parties.

The Gophers were spread out on the bleachers, and she couldn't see the dark-haired musician anywhere. She rubbed her eyes and glanced the other side of her, but he wasn't there either. Looking back at the other side, she finally did spot him.

And he was on his hands and knees on one of the bleacher's footrests. Puzzled, she continued to watch him, wondering what he was doing. Until she saw him get up and then help up a redheaded girl from his team, and their faces were both very red.

Gasping, Gwen put her head in her hands as her eyes welled up with tears.

She's really liked that guy; she'd thought he was sweet and cute and actually a good guy. And she'd thought that he maybe kind of liked her back. She was just starting to think that maybe she would ask him to hang out, maybe even ask him to hang out later that day! She had even been starting to think that he was going to ask her out.

But apparently, he had a thing for that redheaded girl on his own team.

Tired and overwhelmed by disappointment, jealousy and what felt like the sting of rejection, Gwen stood up and left the dodgeball arena, seeking somewhere else to cry.

"Hey, where are you going?" Heather asked as she saw Gwen walking off the court. "You're supposed to be playing."

Gwen, glaring as she tried to hide her tears, bent down and picked up the nearest ball. She bumped it against her chest. "Oh look, I'm out."

"You can't just do that!" Heather hissed, but Gwen wasn't listening as she left the court room.

* * *

The last of the four murder balls that Tyler had thrown hit Izzy straight in the face.

Chef blew his whistle and pointed Izzy off the court. It wasn't much of a competition. Lightning got out Harold easily, and Leshawna hit Lightning while he was focusing on getting Harold out.

"WHAT?!" Lightning said Leshawna's ball hit him.

"You're out." Leshawna said as Chef blew his whistle.

"This is stupid!" Lightning said, storming off the court. "What kind of sport has more than one ball on the field at a time?!"

"You're kidding, right?" Eva asked in disbelief.

"Eva watch out!" Courtney called out from the bleachers seconds before Eva was hit by two balls at once.

"I WILL GET YOU FOR THIS!" Eva vowed as she stormed off the court.

Brick hit Tyler out before Heather hit him out, and then it was Leshawna and Heather versus B. But the big guy was surprisingly agile and was easily able to dodge the balls they threw at him, before hitting both of them out on the first try.

"Way to go, B!" the Bears, including Courtney, cheered.

"Alright, point to the Bears. Next will be Gophers versus Bears – same teams as before!" Chris announced.

Lightning, Brick, Izzy, B and a foul tempered Eva took to the court against Ann Maria, Trent, Justin, Alejandro and Jo. Eva was in a rage from having been hit out in the last round, so the moment the whistle blew, she was firing balls at the other side of the court with all her fury.

In a matter of minutes, she'd decimated the entire team, hitting out everyone but Ann Maria. The curvy girl with the pouf hair-do suddenly became the target of Eva's murder balls.

And then one of them hit Ann Maria's pouf.

"Oh no you didn't." Ann Maria said, patting her pouf to make sure it was still intact.

"She's out! We won!" Courtney began to cheer, but when Chef didn't blow his whistle, she glared up at them. "The ball hit her!"

"NOBODY hits my hair." Ann Maria said.

"Can we get a ref judgement?" Courtney asked, her hands on her hips as she looked expectantly at Chris and Chef.

"It hit her hair." Chris decided. "Doesn't count if it hits the hair."

"Oh, uh-uh, you knocked a hair outta place. Now you're going down." Ann Maria said, picking up the balls that were on the floor on her side of the court.

Ann Maria hit Eva in the gut and the face simultaneously, and Eva curled her hands into fists, grinding her teeth and seething as she looked at Ann Maria. Chef blew his whistle, but Eva stayed on the court until Chef had to get out of his ref's seat to physically remove the girl from the court.

One of the balls that had hit Eva bounced back and rolled to Ann Maria's feet. With Eva out, the other Bears were scrambling to grab balls to hit Ann Maria with. Lightning had one under his arm and was running to the centre line when Ann Maria struck him with a hardball to the gut, and he dropped the ball he'd been carrying and dropped to the ground before crawling off the court.

"You don't mess with the hair." Ann Maria said, throwing another ball and getting out Izzy, and then Brick. It took her a few angry shots to achieve it, but she eventually managed to hit out B at last, the loss only serving to double Eva's rage.

"Gophers win again! That makes the score Gophers two, Bears one and Bass none!" Chris announced. "Now for the fun part! Anyone who played in the first three games has to sit out for the rest of them!"

"WHAT?!" chorused the teens in a mixture of shock and outrage.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" Eva raged, pointing her finger at Courtney.

"My fault?" Courtney repeated.

"You heard me!" Eva said. "You suggested only sending in our best players!"

The score was:

Gophers: 2

Bass: 0

Bears: 1

* * *

Sam was sitting next to Dakota on the bleachers.

"This is the longest I've ever gone without playing a video game." Sam told her. "My hands feel so empty."

Dakota narrowed her eyes. "Chris is such a jerk. I could have sent like six hundred texts by now!"

"Wow, we have a lot in common."

"Why would you say something like that to me?!" Dakota asked, looking as though she was on the verge of tears.

"Oh, no! I meant about the tech withdrawal!" Sam said. "Trust me, you're nothing like me otherwise."

"Aww, thanks!" Dakota said, smiling at Sam.

Nearby, Scott was talking to Lightning. "Chris sure did a number on our team! He took away Sam's lucky gadget right before the big game!"

"Aww man, this stinks!" Lightning exclaimed.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Chris should have let Lightning be a team of one! Lightning is used to carrying his team back home, but at least those guys can actually play the game! Not like this bunch of losers!"_

* * *

"Alright Gophers, you five are our only hope." Jo said, looking at Owen, Dakota, Cody, Dawn and Zoey, who were sitting on the front seat of the bleachers. "Seeing as Noah is too much of a wimp to play."

"You guys have been doing so well without me; I don't want to mess up your mojo." Noah said, before going back to his book.

"So let's go out there and win this!" Jo said as the team stood up to go out on the court. Owen put his hand in the centre of the group, and after a short moment, Zoey puts hers on top of his. Their hands together in the middle for a team cheer, Jo rolled her eyes before joining in and starting the chant. "One, two three, take no prisoners!"

"Go Gophers!" The gophers responded, having been under the assumption that that Jo's cheer would be "One, two, three, go Gophers!"

They ran out onto the court where they faced off against Bass members Geoff, Lindsay, Beth, DJ and Ezekiel.

"Wooo! Go Bass!" Heather cheered. "Easy win!"

"GREAT GATSBY, THAT IS IT!" Owen yelled at the top of his lungs. "GAME ON!"

Owen charged across the court and grabbed the first ball he saw, throwing it through the air and hitting both Lindsay and Beth with the first hit. Grabbing the next ball, he took out Ezekiel. DJ went out next before Owen let forth a battle cry and smoked Geoff in the face with a hardball. The entire Bass team was down before any of them had a chance to get up.

"That one's worth an instant replay." Chris said smugly. "That's gonna leave a mark."

Chef blew the whistle to signify the end of the game.

"I don't know what got into me!" Owen told his team.

"Nice chops, kid!" Jo said approvingly.

"There are chops?!" Owen asked with wide eyes.

"Congratulations Owen!" Alejandro said. "At least  _someone_  is trying today."

Noah looked up from his book. "Oh sorry. Wooo! Way to throw those murder balls! Go team, go!"

"Nice team spirit." Jo said sarcastically. Then she turned to the other teams. "Hey! It's three-one and three-zero! How does it feel to suck so much?"

"Not very good." Harold admitted, looking down in shame.

"It's not over yet!" Courtney reminded her from the Bears team, before muttering to herself. "It's so over."

* * *

Heather had her hands on her hips. "Where is Gwen?!"

"I don't know, I saw her take off about twenty minutes ago. She looked real down, eh." Ezekiel said.

"Ugh, we can't spare anyone to go and find her." Heather said. "We don't have time before the next game."

"Wake up sleeping beauty over there." Leshawna said, jerking a thumb in Duncan's direction.

"What, are you crazy? I'm not doing it." Heather said.

Leshawna rolled her eyes before walking over to Duncan and smacking him on the face three times to wake him up.

"You'd better have a damn good reason for waking me up." Duncan said, enraged as he sat up.

"You wanna get outta my face, mister 'tude." Leshawna said. "I'm doing you a favour here - I'm trying to help you avoid getting voted out tonight."

"We're losing. The Gophers are up three, and even the Bears have won a game." Heather said. "We're in last place."

"And we need your help." Leshawna said.

"And why should I help you?" Duncan asked.

"Because if you don't, I can personally guarantee that you will be the one going home tonight." Heather said.

"For once, I agree with Heather." Leshawna said.

"Alright, fine, I'll play." Duncan said, rolling his eyes. "On one condition."

"And what's that?" Leshawna asked.

"You do what I say, when I say it." Duncan said. When his team nodded in consensus, Duncan continued. "Okay, here's a strategy I picked up on my first visit to juvie; it's called 'rush the new guy'."

* * *

Duncan, Geoff, Ezekiel, DJ and Beth were up against Courtney, Bridgette, Cameron, Sadie and Sam.

"Ready to lose again?" Courtney taunted the Bass, looking especially confident.

"It's not over until it's over,  _darling_!" Duncan said.

"Sure you can stay awake long enough to actually play the game,  _darling_?" Courtney asked.

"Will you two please stop flirting and just play already?!" Heather called from the sidelines.

"EW! I am  _not_  flirting with  _him_!" Courtney said, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "That's just nasty!"

Chef blew his whistle and the match started.

Courtney and Bridgette aimed at the other team, but the Bass easily dodged the balls thrown their way and then had all four balls on their side, which they all aimed at a single player, Sadie. One by one, the Bass took the Bears down.

"What was that were you saying about losing, Princess?" Duncan taunted as the Bears made their way off the court, prompting Courtney to whip the nearest dodgeball at his face. Duncan ducked, and Courtney ended up hitting Justin in the face.

"Ow! My beautiful face!" Justin exclaimed.

* * *

"We are seriously sucking here!" Courtney complained.

"The Bass have a strategy, we should figure out one as well!" Cameron suggested.

Courtney narrowed her eyes and smiled, her face the picture of sly determination. "That's a  _great_  idea, Cam. Guys, huddle up; I have an idea."

For the next match, Courtney, Mike, Bridgette, Sadie and Cameron were up against Owen, Dakota, Zoey, Cody and Dawn.

When Chef blew the whistle and the game began, the Bears waited on the Gophers to start throwing balls their way. Owen hit Sadie out on the first shot, but then the Bears had all the balls on their side and hit out Owen – the Gopher's best player on the court. In moments, Zoey, Cody and Dawn were out as well.

"Hey! Take it easy!" Dakota whined as one dodgeball hit her in the stomach and a second hit her head, and she walked off of the court, rubbing the goose-egg that was quickly developing.

Chef blew his whistle; the Bears had won the round.

The score was:

Gophers: 3

Bass: 1

Bears: 2

Noah glanced up from his book, not looking very impressed. "Come on, a little effort out there, people!"

This statement earned him dirty looks from Jo, Zoey and Dawn.

"Why don't you help out?" Zoey said, frowning. Then she seemed to think she was being too bossy and her expression softened. "If it's not too much trouble, that is."

Jo rolled her eyes at how easily Zoey backed off before she herself turned her glare to Noah. "You need to get off your butt and contribute to this team, bookworm."

"Yeah, I would, but sports aren't really my forte." Noah said, rolling his eyes before resuming reading.

"Whatever." Cody said, rolling his eyes in annoyance. "Let's just do the same team again, because Noah clearly doesn't care about winning this challenge."

"We're up against the Bass again." Zoey said. "We are so gonna lose."

"Well clearly when you have an attitude like that!" Jo retorted before Zoey, Dakota, Owen, Dawn and Cody made their way back onto the court.

Duncan, Beth, Zeke, Lindsay and Geoff were up for the Bass team, and they dominated the Gophers just as they had dominated the Bears in their previous game. It was no contest – just  _boom, boom, boom_  and out. It was the same story when the same five Bass players went up against Courtney, Bridgette, Mike, Sadie and Scott.

* * *

"Our strategy is failing!" Courtney said with a frown. "At least it does against the Bass."

"We're up against the Gophers now." Brick said.

"I know, but we can't let them have this win. If they win this one, we'll lose the challenge!" Courtney explained, distressed. "Our strategy isn't working."

"We need something new." Cameron said. "Perhaps carefully calculated-"

"No, we don't – I think we need something old." Courtney said. "I'm sure you've all heard the old saying 'if it isn't broken, don't fix it'?"

"That's 'if it  _ain't broke_ , don't fix it'." Scott corrected.

"Regardless – I have a plan that just might help us pull off a win." Courtney said, leaning in to divulge the details of her plan in hushed tones.

* * *

Courtney, Mike, Bridgette, Sadie and Sam made their way onto the court to face off against the same five Gophers players: Owen, Dawn, Cody, Zoey and Dakota.

"Just stick to the plan." Courtney reminded the Bears.

The game began, and the Gophers were playing hard, but they weren't able to stand up to the full fury of the Bears' new strategy. Abandoning their targeting just the strongest players first, they used the Bass's strategy of targeting one player at a time, eliminating the Gophers one by one.

Owen was the last Gopher on the court, and he got hold of two of the dodgeballs, and threw them full force at Mike. They almost hit Mike, but he gasped, before dodging gracefully.

"You'll have to do much better to hit Svetlana!" Mike called out in what sounded like a Russian accent. "Svetlana will win ze gold!"

"Ready, aim," Courtney called as she, Bridgette and Sadie all picked up dodgeballs and hit Owen out.

Chef blew his whistle and the match was over.

The score was:

Gophers: 3

Bass: 3

Bears: 3

"I wasn't expecting this." Chris said, touching his chin. "Seriously, people?! A three-way tie?!"

"Lightning still thinks this game is lame." Lightning said.

"Alright, we'll have to have a tie-breaker match. So three more rounds of dodgeball to decide on a winner!" Chris said, then he seemed to think of something. "And to make things interesting, each team gets to have someone who has had to sit out back in play!"

"Sweet! We want-" Courtney began before Chris cut her off.

"Ah ah ah! I get to choose who gets to play again!" Chris said tauntingly. "I choose Jo, Heather and Eva!"

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Eva?" Heather asked. "We're screwed."_

Static.

" _Finally, my team might actually stand a chance." Jo said._

Static.

" _I pity anyone who has to play against Eva." Alejandro said. "I am fortunate to have been able to avoid such pain."_

* * *

"Owen, Cody, Zoey and Dawn, you're on with me for the first round." Jo said. "We can still do this. Just get all of the balls to Owen and me."

The team nodded and made their way onto the court to face off with Bass members.

* * *

"Where have  _you_  been?" Heather asked with narrow eyes as Gwen arrived and took her seat on the bleachers.

"Oh leave me alone." Gwen snapped in response.

"Whatever." Heather said, rolling her eyes. "Just make sure you cheer for our team."

"Yeah, fine, whatever." Gwen said, glaring as Duncan, Heather, Geoff, Zeke and Beth made their way out onto the court.

"Ready to lose yet?" Heather taunted from the Bass's side of the court.

"You're going down, Guppies!" Jo retorted.

Chef blew his whistle and the game began. Unfortunately for the Gophers, the game didn't last very long. Despite giving Jo and Owen all the balls because their aim was best, the Bass's strategy was too solid for them to overcome.

"Whoa, neat strategy." Gwen commented with wide eyes.

"Yeah, Duncan thought of it." Leshawna told her.

"Really?" Gwen asked, before shrugging and beginning to cheer. "Woo! Go Duncan!"

The same five Bass players: Duncan, Heather, Geoff, Zeke and Beth were up again in the next match. Despite the Bears' attempts to replicate the Bass's strategy, the Bass were victorious in the match.

"Eva, you're out." Chris said when the Bass hit the last of the Bears' players out. "Bass win the challenge!"

The Gophers rose and began to walk to take their side of the court for the final match, the match that would decide which team would be voting out a member that night. Unfortunately for them, it was that moment that Eva snapped.

Picking up the nearest ball off of the floor, Eva whipped it across the court in rage, hitting Jo hard in the face as the blonde made her way onto the court. The force of the hit sent the blonde sprawling backwards, and she lost consciousness.

"Ow!" Dawn's voice cried from under Jo's body.

"Jo! Dawn!" Zoey cried out, rushing over to her teammates with Cody and Owen. Trent and Alejandro rushed out onto the court.

"Jo? Jo?" Cody asked, waving his hand in front of the blonde's face, but getting no response.

"She's out cold." Zoey said. "Trent, Alejandro – you guys need to help Jo over to the bleachers, you'll have to carry her."

The two boys nodded and did as Zoey had instructed, leaving Zoey, Owen and Cody with the pale blonde who'd caught Jo. Owen observed the girl wince as he offered her a hand up. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, but I twisted my ankle when I fell. I'll be fine." Dawn replied.

"You can't play with a twisted ankle." Zoey said.

"I'm fine." Dawn said. "It's not that bad, really."

"You need to sit down." Zoey said while Cody offered himself for the blonde to lean on while she walked to the bleachers.

"Gophers, come on, we don't have all day!" Chris said. "Chop, chop!"

"Dude, we have injured players on our team, can we have a minute?!" Trent replied.

"Fine, five minutes! Then I want your team on the court and ready to play!"

"Dakota, you're playing." Zoey decided. "Noah, we need you to play too."

"Sports; not my forte, remember?" Noah said, glancing up from his book for only a second.

"But we need your help." Zoey said.

"You guys just need to try harder." Noah said.

"I don't see you trying very hard." Cody said, frowning.

"You're better off without me, I assure you." Noah said, prompting his teammates to roll their eyes.

"I'll say." Jo said, coming to at last. "I'm fine. I can play."

Jo stood up to make her way onto the court, but just wobbled and fell back onto the bleachers. Zoey frowned. "Jo, you're obviously not fine; you can't even stand up."

"I'm the only chance we have." Jo argued.

"I can play, I'm fine." Dawn argued.

"Senorita, you shouldn't walk on that ankle." Alejandro pointed out, glancing at Dawn's ankle, which was swelling quickly.

"But Jo can't do it." Dawn said.

"Yeah, I can. Just give me a minute or two and I'll be good to go."

"That's the spirit." Noah said.

"Oh shut up." Jo snapped.

"Time's up Gophers! On the court now or forfeit the match!" Chris said.

"I'm good to go, don't worry." Jo said, standing up and wobbling onto the court.

Almost all of the remaining Gophers stood up and moved to different parts of the bleachers or leaving the dodgeball court completely, disgusted by Noah refusal to play. Trent offered Dawn a hand. "Want me to help you walk back to the cabin?"

"Oh no, I'm alright here." Dawn assured him.

"Alright, if you say so." Trent said, sitting back down.

"Noah?" Dawn said.

"Yes?" he replied, pausing reading long enough to raise his eyebrow at the pale blonde.

"I think if you were as you wish you were – an only child – you would wish that you had the numerous siblings you have." Dawn said.

"What?!" Noah asked, closing his book with a snap. "I never – who told you that?"

"It's all over your aura." Dawn said, while Trent's green eyes grew wide and he scooted away from the blonde. "It's unfortunate that you feel the need to use sarcasm to shield yourself from getting close to others because you fear being hurt."

Noah's eyes grew wide as with discomfort as he listened to the pale blonde girl. "Please stop talking."

"I feel it is my duty to warn you - there is a fork in the path that you walk." Dawn said. "If you don't play today, I sense that your time on the island will be very short."

Noah rolled his eyes and set his book down on the bleachers before running out onto the court. "Hey guys, I changed my mind! I'll play!"

"Jo, go sit down." Zoey commanded. The blonde in the track suit obeyed on wobbly feet and staggered over to the bleachers, where she collapsed. Zoey turned to Noah. "What made you change your mind?"

"I uh. . . just wanted some time away from the coven therapist." Noah responded, scratching the back of his head.

"Who's my therapist?" Owen asked, looking confused.

"Not 'Owen's therapist', the 'coven therapist'." Noah said, receiving blank stares from his teammates. "No? A coven? You know, like a group of witches? Never mind, just forget I said anything and let's just play some dodgeball."

"Alright!" Zoey cheered, giving Owen a high five.

"But I think we need a strategy, so here's what we're going to go." Noah said, beckoning his teammates into a huddle.

Courtney, Mike, Scott, Bridgette and Eva were out on the court now, facing off against Dakota, Zoey, Cody, Owen and Noah.

As per Noah's plan, Owen had a ball in each hand and Cody and Zoey each had a ball.

The whistle blew and the game began.

Owen let out a battle cry and charged to the centre line. While the Bears were focused on Owen, Zoey and Cody were able to hit out both Scott and Mike – who had gone back to being Mike prior to the match. The Gophers exchanged high fives before the remaining Bears used their copied strategy to eliminate Owen.

The remaining Bears targeted Zoey next, eliminating her swiftly. Cody, Noah and Dakota took charge of the remaining balls to target Bridgette before Courtney and Eva hit Cody out as well. Courtney smiled with determination, and aimed a ball hard at Dakota.

"Hey! Take it easy!" Dakota complained as she caught the ball.

Chef's whistle blew: Courtney was out and Owen was back in.

That was enough to set off Eva's temper once more, and she whipped a ball across the court and hit Dakota in the face. The girl, almost immediately getting a bruise on her chin, began to cry and sprinted off of the court before Chef had even blown the whistle.

It was Noah and Owen versus Bridgette and Eva.

* * *

**Confessional**

_Dakota was crying her eyes out in the confessional. "Eva is so mean!" Then she stopped, pulled out a mirror and checked her face. "Not blotchy, but ugh – this bruise looks awful." She sighed. "Okay. Take two." And began crying once more._

* * *

Noah picked up the balls from the Gopher's side of the court, and handed one of them to Owen. Owen let out a battle cry and threw one ball straight up in the air. Then, while Bridgette was watching the one arcing high across the court, Noah handed a second ball to Owen.

"Watch out!" Eva called to Bridgette, who looked forward seconds too late, being hit out by Owen. This further angered Eva, who took Owen out with a hard hit to the face.

Eva and Noah were the only players left on the court.

"You're going down, shrimp!" Eva called.

"Yep, probably." Noah agreed quietly as Eva picked up the first ball. Those Gophers who remained in the arena were looking as though they had lost all hope of winning the match, and seemed to be considering who to vote out that night.

Eva narrowed her eyes and whipped the ball across the court at him.

Most members of his team closed their eyes and waited for the thud of the rubber ball against Noah's body.

But it didn't come.

Instead, the sound of the ball hitting the back wall of the arena sounded, followed by a snarl of irritation from Eva, followed shortly by another slam of rubber ball against the back wall. And another.

"Whoa." Jo and Dawn commented in unison, their eyes wide and Jo's mouth agape.

Their teammates who had shut their eyes soon opened them to watch the match, sitting on the edge of the bleachers, watching as Noah managed to dodge Eva's attempts to get him out again and again, which in turn increased her rage on the court.

"Time out!" Jo called to Chef, who nodded his consent.

"Whoa dude, where did you learn to dodge like that?!" Trent asked.

"With as strong a grasp on sarcasm as I have, it tends to tick off the more feeble-minded." Noah responded. Then he scratched the back of his head as he confessed. "I'm not as popular back home as you'd think."

"Wow, really?" Jo asked sarcastically.

"Yeah, you learn how to dodge various objects." Noah stated, unimpressed.

"Well, you're not gonna win by dodging." Jo stated.

"Oh, wow, really?" Noah asked sarcastically.

"Somehow you need to hit Eva out." Jo said, before shoving him back out onto the dodgeball court. "You'd better win this one, Bookworm!"

"I'M TAKING YOU DOWN!?" Eva roared from the other side of the court.

"Oh goody." Noah said with a sigh as Chef blew the whistle, resuming the game, and Eva began firing balls across the court with deadly force.

Noah picked up the nearest ball and threw it across the court, but he missed Eva and only fanned the flames of her temper.

Consumed by rage that Noah had dared to try and hit her out, Eva grabbed all four balls and threw them with such ferocity at Noah that it was a wonder that he could even dodge them.

And then one hit him in the stomach, and he was sent flying across the court, slamming full force into the back wall of the arena.

Chef blew the whistle, signifying the end of the game.

"ALRIGHT, I GOT HIM!" Eva cried out victorious as the Bears began to cheer victoriously.

As the Gophers sighed in defeat, Noah spoke up, his voice weak with pain. "Not so fast."

All eyes were on him as he held up the ball – he'd caught it.

Chef blew the whistle again and pointed at Eva before pointing to the sidelines.

"Gophers get second place! Bears are on the chopping block tonight!" Chris announced.

The score was:

Gophers: 4

Bass: 5

Bears: 3

"WOOOOO! GO NOAH!" the Gophers erupted into cheers.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _See? This is why I'm not into sports." Noah said, holding his still sore stomach. "Ugh, this is definitely going to bruise."_

Static.

" _I didn't know the Bookworm had it in him." Jo said with an approving nod._

* * *

"So it's agreed then – we're sure who we're voting for tonight?" Eva asked. B sighed before he nodded, then went on his way. Sadie nodded as well, but hung back.

"Eva – c-can I ask you something?" Sadie said.

"What do you want, Butterball?" Eva responded.

"You're so tough and strong. . ." Sadie said, her fingers linked behind her back as she studied her feet. "Can you teach me to be strong like you?"

Eva's eyes went wide in surprise. "Uh . . . sure."

"Really?!" Sadie asked in surprise. Then, she clapped her hands and threw her arms around Eva. "THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!"

Eva was completely taken aback by the sudden gesture, and seemed to have been rendered speechless.

Sadie's eyes went wide and she gasped when she realized what she was doing, and backed off immediately. "Sorry! I'm so sorry. Like so so so sorry!"

Eva seemed to be recollecting her tough attitude. "Well. . . uh. . . don't ever do it again!"

"Okay, I'll never ever do it again!" Sadie promised.

"Well . . . good!" Eva said.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I definitely didn't enjoy that hug." Eva said, glaring at the camera. "And if anyone says I did – I'll rearrange their face."_

* * *

"How are you feeling, Jo?" Zoey asked.

"I've been better, but I'll live." Jo answered. She was walking beside Owen, who had – like a gentleman - offered her his arm to steady herself if she needed it.

"And how's your ankle, Dawn?" Zoey asked as she helped the blonde make her way back to their cabin.

"It's fine, really." Dawn assured her teammate.

The group fell silent. After a few moments, Noah rolled his eyes and spoke up. "I'm fine too, thanks for asking."

"Good to know, hero boy." Jo retorted. "You're lucky you changed your mind and decided to get on the court, otherwise we'd be sending you home tonight."

"Oh wow, after winning the challenge for you, this is the thanks I get."

"Hey, you stepped up and saved yourself from elimination. No point in telling you that we weren't going to vote you off if you didn't step up, since we were." Jo said."Besides, you didn't win the challenge, you won  _one_ game for us."

"Remind me never to do it again, seeing how much appreciation I get."

"Yeah yeah, yeah. We appreciate you plenty for catching that ball." Jo said. "But up until that last match, you were useless. You deserved to be voted out."

"Gee, thanks."

"If Dawn hadn't warned you about the consequences of not playing, we'd be voting you out tonight – you realize that, right?" Trent asked in a low voice. He'd fallen back to walk beside Noah – behind the rest of the team.

"And your point is?" Noah asked suspiciously.

"You should do something nice in return."

"Like what?"

"I don't know – offer to carry her or something."

"Tell me you're not serious."

"You kind of owe her, dude."

"Yeah, but she's not MY responsibility."

"What are you two ladies whispering about back there?" Jo demanded, before grabbing Owen's arm to steady her balance.

Noah sighed in defeat. "Uh . . . Dawn, would you like me to carry you?"

"I'm fine, really." Dawn assured him, before contradicting herself with a wince.

"Come on Dawn, that's not true." Zoey protested, observing the blonde's wince.

"I don't want to be a bother. I'll be fine."

Jo rolled her eyes in irritation but made herself dizzy and had to grab Owen's arm again to avoid a faceplant. "Just shut up and do it."

"Ugh,  _fine_." Noah conceded, walking over and picking Dawn up in his arms.

"You don't have to carry me. I'll be fine."

"Try telling  _them_  that." Noah commented, rolling his eyes.

"Oh look Duncan, you're too late. The cockroach queen's already chosen a mate." Heather sneered as she caught sight of the other team. "Congratulations on your marriage."

Noah regarded Dawn with wide eyes as he realized that he was carrying her in much the same way a groom carries his bride. He put her down as fast as he could.

"Why don't you give her a piggyback instead?" Zoey suggested.

"Why couldn't you have suggested that in the first place?" Noah asked in irritation as he turned his back to Dawn and leaned down so she could get on his back without hurting her ankle.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I have no problem thanking Dawn for her advice, but I'd rather keep as far from her as possible in future. I'm not saying I believe in all that hocus pocus stuff," Noah raised both hands and wiggled his fingers for effect. "But if I did, I'd say that Dawn was a witch. Either way, I'd rather stay as far from her as possible. Thanks for the help Trent, I really appreciate it, buddy."_

* * *

"Well hello Princess, fancy seeing you here." Duncan said with a smirk, leaning up against the wall as the brunette stalked past him.

"What do you want?" she asked, halting for a moment to glare at him.

"That's a pretty harsh tone." He said. "What's the matter? Something on your mind? Like a guilty conscience?"

"What are you talking about?" she said, her glare darkening.

"And here I thought Princess was above theft."

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Oh I'm sure you do." he said. "But I'll refresh your memory anyway: you stole my dodgeball strategy."

"I don't classify that as theft – I prefer to call it 'adaptation'."

"Oh, that's a good one. I'll have to remember that." he taunted her.

"What do you want?" she demanded once more. "Can't you go bother someone on your own team?"

"That hurts, Princess."

"And stop calling me Princess!"

"You know you like it."

"No, I don't, actually. But you wanna know what I would like? If you'd just get lost."

"Oh come on, we both know you don't mean that." he smirked. "We both know you dig me."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"Do not!"

"Everyone knows you do. I know. Your teammates know. My teammates know. Even the other team knows! You're the only one who won't admit it."

"I. DO. NOT. LIKE. YOU."

"Alright, if you say so." he said, not convinced.

She rolled her eyes in irritation before trying to change the subject. "What did you do to that Harold guy? The one who slept on the steps?"

"He kept us up snoring, so we tossed him in the lake."

"That's not very nice." She said, before narrowing her eyes. "And who's we?"

"Gwen and I."

"Gwen – that goth girl, right?"

"Do I detect a hint of jealousy there, Princess?"

"No, of course not! Why would I be jealous? I can't stand you!"

"You seem to be doing a pretty good job of it right now."

"I'M NOT JEALOUS."

"Actually, I was referring to being able to stand me."

"Oh."

"You know, if you just admit that you like me, I might let you kiss me."

"As if. Gross! In your dreams! Why would  _I_  want to kiss  _you_?!" Courtney snarled, outraged. "I'm done here."

Then, with her fists clenched in anger, she whirled around and stormed off into the night.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _You know, that girl really creases me." Duncan said, before his frown turned into a half-smile. "I really dig that in a chick."_

Static.

" _Duncan and me? Right. As if. I'm so sure. Not in a million years. Puh-lease! When pigs fly." Courtney said._

" _Yo. Are you still busy protesting in there or can someone else have a turn?" Leshawna's voice called from outside the confessional._

" _Like I was saying: not gonna happen." Courtney finished._

* * *

"Bears, you're back to send someone else home tonight. I have eleven marshmallows. There are twelve of you. Tonight we will find out who you have chosen to take the walk of shame." Chris said. "Mike. B. Courtney. Bridgette."

The four teens caught their marshmallows.

"Izzy. Sadie. Scott."

The trio stood up to collect their marshmallows.

"Cameron, Lightning."

Sadie gasped as she realized that Eva was in the bottom two.

"And the final marshmallow of the night goes to. . ."

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

"Eva."

Sadie sighed in relief as Eva stepped forward to collect her marshmallow, and Courtney frowned.

"Sam, you're going home tonight." Chris said.

"At least I wasn't first!" Sam cheered. Then as he began his walk towards the dock of shame, he paused as he realized something. "Hey Chris, can I have my game back now?"

"Keep walking." Chef said, giving Sam a shove onto the boat.

"Sure!" Chris said. "Here you go!"

He tossed the game console to Sam, but purposely didn't throw it far enough and it splashed into the water by the boat. Sam cried out in horror, leaning over to scoop out his drowned game console. "Noooooo!"

* * *

"And that concludes another episode of Total Drama Island! What challenges still await these teens? Tune in next time to find out!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Eliminated so far:**
> 
>  
> 
> 37th: Katie
> 
> 36th: Staci
> 
> 35th: Sierra
> 
> 34th: Sam
> 
> * * *
> 
> **Still in the Game:**
> 
>  
> 
> **Screaming Gophers:**  Dawn, Alejandro, Ann Maria, Noah, Dakota, Justin, Cody, Trent, Zoey, Jo, Owen
> 
> **Killer Bass:** Duncan, LeShawna, Geoff, Gwen, Heather, Lindsay, Harold, Beth, Tyler, DJ, Ezekiel
> 
> **Thrashing Bears:** Sadie, Cameron, Brick, Eva, Courtney, Scott, Beverly, Lightning, Izzy, Bridgette, Mike


	6. Not Quite Famous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The teens compete in a talent competition and secrets are spilled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Teams:**
> 
> **Screaming Gophers:**  Dawn, Alejandro, Ann Maria, Noah, Dakota, Justin, Cody, Trent, Zoey, Jo, Owen
> 
> **Killer Bass:** Duncan, LeShawna, Geoff, Gwen, Heather, Lindsay, Harold, Beth, Tyler, DJ, Ezekiel
> 
> **Thrashing Bears:** Sadie, Cameron, Brick, Eva, Courtney, Scott, Beverly, Lightning, Izzy, Bridgette, Mike

"Last time on Total Drama Island, the teens played a classic game of dodgeball!" Chris announced. "Things were going well for the Bears until the Bass woke up Duncan who brought a juvie strategy to the game. After a three-way tie breaker, the Bass came out on top. The Gophers fought hard but hope seemed lost when the Bears 'adapted' the Bass's strategy. However, when Noah was able to catch one of Eva's murder balls he claimed second place for the Gophers. In the end, it was the Bears who headed to the campfire ceremony, where they sent Sam home. Get ready for the most dramatic episode of Total Drama Island,  _ever_!"

_**Cue theme song.** _

"This is so, way beyond bad!" Gwen sat up, Lindsay's complaints having woken her from her peaceful slumber. "I'm out of fake tanner already!"

"Whoa, that's tragic Lindsay." Gwen said sarcastically.

"Now I have to actually like suntan – in the sun! Do you realize how shrivelled and wrinkly that can make your skin?" Lindsay complained, walking over to Gwen – who was using her own saliva to deal with her bedhead. Leaning close to inspect the girl's hair and face, Lindsay became sympathetic. "Oh, you totally do."

Suddenly an air horn sounded before Chris's voice began to reach every camper's ears via the P.A. System. "Alright campers, enough beauty sleep! Time to show us what you're made of!"

* * *

"Are we going to see a musical?" Lindsay asked as she and her fellow campers took their places on the bleachers in front of the stage. "I love musicals, especially the ones with singing and dancing!"

"Because they're so much better than musicals without singing and dancing." Noah quipped, rolling his eyes.

"I know, right?" Lindsay said.

"Gwen, saved you a seat." Trent called, patting the spot beside him on the bleachers. The goth girl took one look at him and then gave him a look so dark it could have killed him. Crossing her arms, she instead sat on the bleachers as far from him as she could get.

"What's up with her?" Zoey asked as she sat on the bleachers beside Trent.

"I don't know; I don't think I've said or done anything wrong."

"Maybe she's just having a bad day." Zoey suggested with a shrug.

"Maybe." Trent said, obviously not convinced.

"Welcome to our brand new, deluxe, state of the art, outdoor amphitheatre! Okay, this week's challenge is a summer camp favourite: a talent contest!"

"Yes! Awesome!" Owen cheered.

"Each team has eight hours to pick their three most talented campers. These three will represent them in the show tonight. Sing, dance, juggle, anything goes – as long as it's legal!" Chris walked across the stage. "You'll be judged by our resident talent scout: former DJ, VJ and rap legend – Grand Master Chef who will show his approval via the Chef-o-meter. The team that loses will send one camper home tonight! Good luck!"

* * *

Heather blew her whistle to get her team's attention. "Alright, I'm the team captain so here's how it's going to work."

"Wait, who said you were team captain?" Gwen asked.

"She did, just now." Lindsay answered.

"Lindsay, Beth and I took a vote – and I won." Heather said.

"Threatening them to vote for you isn't exactly democratic." Gwen said.

"Hey, snagged you an extra muffin." Trent said, arriving and holding out a muffin to Gwen.

"Trent, you're cool with me leading this project, aren't you?" Heather asked.

"Uh. . . sure, go for it." Trent responded.

"He isn't even on our team!" Gwen retorted, before turning her glare to Trent. "Aren't you forgetting someone? Like maybe Zoey? I'm outta here."

"Where are you going?!" Heather demanded as the goth girl stormed off, her diary under her arm.

"Anywhere that's not here." Gwen growled.

"Um. . . okay then." Trent said, his green eyes wide with confusion. Then, shrugging at the goth's strange behaviour, he left the Bass and rejoined his own team.

"Beth, Lindsay and I will be the judges." Heather said.

* * *

"Hey Trent, what's up?" Zoey asked her friend as he sat down on the steps with his teammates.

"I think Gwen's mad at me." Trent said, still looking puzzled.

"Really?" Zoey asked in confusion. "What for?"

"I have no idea. All I did was offer her a muffin and she stormed off." Trent said. "And she said something about me giving the muffin to you instead."

"Okay then. That's weird."

"Definitely." Trent said. "So, do you want the muffin?"

"Sure. Toss it here." Zoey said.

"It's all yours. Go wild." Trent said as he gently tossed the muffin into the redhead's waiting hands.

"Thanks."

"No problem."

"So what talents do you guys have?" Jo asked, standing in front of the team with Alejandro, watching him mistrustfully out of the corner of her eye.

Owen jumped up to demonstrate his talent first, chugging a full three litre bottle of pop in under a minute before belching the alphabet in one huge burp.

"Ew." Dakota said, flinching. "That's disgusting!"

"That was excellent, man." Trent said, giving Owen a high five before turning to Dakota. "Do you know how hard it is to burp the entire alphabet in one go?"

"Ew, I'd rather not." Dakota responded, flipping her hair.

"I can also toot Beethoven's fifth." Owen said, bending over to demonstrate.

"No!" protested Dakota, Ann Maria and Zoey in unison.

"As  _charming_  as that is, I don't think that it's quite right for the talent show." Alejandro said.

"What, can't handle a little gas?" Jo said, raising an eyebrow at Alejandro. Then she turned her attention to Owen. "You can be our backup act."

"Hey Trent, you should audition." Zoey said, nudging her friend. "I heard you playing by the dock the other night; you're really good."

"Thanks, maybe I will." Trent said with a nod.

* * *

"Oh my gosh! Katie and I dance together!" Sadie told her team as they sat around, trying to figure out what talents to display on the show. Then Sadie grew sad. "I wish Katie were here! We could totally dance!"

"That would be helpful – if Katie was here and was actually on _our_  team!" Courtney told the girl, rolling her eyes.

"Can't you just dance by yourself?" Eva asked, not looking impressed.

"No! It's not the same if I don't have a partner to dance with!" Sadie said. Then her eyes grew wide and she looked at Eva.

"Oh no, not in a million years!" Eva said, guessing what the girl was about to propose.

"Come on! I bet you're a great dancer!"

"No! Never!" Eva said, crossing her arms and shaking her head. "I don't dance – and I especially don't dance on national television!"

"Come on! It'll be fun!" Sadie said, grabbing her stereo and Eva's hand and dragging the girl away – unintentionally provoking Eva's temper in the process.

* * *

Heather's performance was of swan-like grace. She'd clearly practised ballet for many years of her life. Her teammates applauded her when she'd finished.

"Thank you." Heather said sweetly. Then, casting a sideways glance at an applauding Lindsay and Beth, she coughed. " _Hem hem_."

"Oh!" Lindsay said. "I vote for Heather to be in the contest!"

"I second that!" Beth said with an eager nod.

"Guys, that is so sweet!" Heather said. "Okay, I guess I'm in. Why doesn't everyone take five?"

The team nodded in agreement and began to wander off, but Heather caught Lindsay's arm and held her back.

"I need you to do something; can you keep a secret?"

"Oh my gosh, definitely! My sister got diarrhoea on a date once and I had to bring her toilet paper because the restaurant was all out and she was stuck in the bathroom and I've never told a soul." Then her eyes grew wide as she realized what she'd just said.  _On camera_. "Oops, sorry Paula."

"Gwen's up to something serious." Heather handed Lindsay a walkie talkie and a pair of binoculars. "I want you to follow her and report back to me."

* * *

"Aside from me, does anyone on our team actually have a talent that we can put in the show?" Courtney asked.

"I can stand on my hands for twenty minutes." Bridgette said, beginning to demonstrate. "Watch!"

"Okay, that would be cute if you were a monkey." Courtney said. "I just don't think it's quite what we're looking for. Next!"

Lightning walked up next with a football and proceeded to completely astound his team by aiming at long range targets with his football – and repeatedly hitting bulls-eyes.

* * *

Tyler was performing tricks with his yo-yo. He wasn't bad – not great, but not terrible. At first. His performance took a turn for the worst when he flicked his wrist to recall the yo-yo but ended up winding its long string around his entire body – tying himself up.

Chris walked by, checking on the progress of the teens and laughed at Tyler. "Dude, that is weak."

Tyler frowned as Chris walked away to check the other teams' progress, and struggled to untie himself to no avail. As DJ began his ribbon dance – which Heather did not seem terribly impressed by, Tyler began to walk away.

"Fine, I guess you can be our backup." Heather told DJ as Tyler retreated.

As he made his way across the campsite, the yo-yo kept bouncing, hitting him in the butt repeatedly.

Meanwhile, a busty blonde was staked out behind a tree, obediently doing what Heather had commanded – keeping tabs on the goth girl, Gwen.

"Something serious?" Lindsay said as she watched Gwen through the binoculars that Heather had given her. "Yeah, seriously boring." Bored, Lindsay began to scan around with the binoculars, eventually coming to focus on a cute butt in a pair of red track pants. "Ooooh,  _that's_  not boring."

* * *

"Can you do anything, bookworm?" Jo asked, glaring at Noah who – as usual – had his nose buried deep in a book. "Aside from read?"

"My talents are strictly academic." Noah responded as he turned to the next page in the book. "I mean, if you're desperate, I could read a monologue or something else befitting my fantastic intellect, but I really don't think that the audience here would be very appreciative of such talents."

"Yeah, I kinda agree with you there." Jo said, turning back to the rest of the team. "Helmet hair – have you got anything?"

* * *

"Lindsay, come in." Heather's voice crackled over the walkie-talkie. "What did you find out? Over."

However, Lindsay was too busy swapping spit with Tyler to respond. She reached for the walkie-talkie but gave up almost immediately because it was too far away. Sitting on Tyler's lap, her reaching for the walkie-talkie had off-balanced him and soon Lindsay was on top of Tyler as the two made out on the sinks in the communal washroom.

"Lindsay, where are you?!" Heather demanded.

Tyler reached over and grabbed the walkie-talkie for his girlfriend, holding it for her as she responded.

"Oh! Uh. . . on my way back! Under!" Lindsay responded before her lips were pressed against Tyler's lips once more.

* * *

As Lindsay and Tyler rejoined the Bass, they were just in time to see the end of Beth's fire-baton twirling.

"Are you sure that's safe?" Heather asked, flinching as the end of one of the flaming batons whirled too close for comfort.

"It's okay! I've been practising!" Beth answered with a wide smile and a nod as she tossed the batons into the air.

"Wicked cool!" Tyler exclaimed, giving a thumbs up to show his approval before almost instantly regretting it. Along with his teammates, he dove behind the picnic benches for safety while the fire baton struck the ground, burning a hole into it.

"I kind of missed the class on catching." Beth admitted.

* * *

"Hey guys, the bush is on fire." Zoey informed her teammates, staring wide-eyed at the landing place of Beth's second fire baton.

Suddenly, the door nearest the burning bush was flung open and Justin appeared with a fire extinguisher, the dancing flames reflecting in the lenses on his designer sunglasses. Quickly spraying fire-suppressant foam all over the burning bush, the flames were extinguished, while the Gophers watched in awe.

Zoey walked up to him and handed him a water bottle.

Justin took off his shirt to display his eight-pack abs and drained the entire bottle of water. A single drop escaped his mouth and fell from his lip to his bare chest, where it evaporated into steam the moment it came into contact with his skin.

The display had caught the attention of nearly all of the female contestants and even a few of the male contestants as well. Even Jo was staring at Justin's well defined abs and pecs. Dawn, who was meditating on a picnic table, was the only female contestant in the area not staring at Justin.

"Okay, so Justin's in the show." Jo decided, still looking awestruck. "Any objections?"

But of course nobody had any.

* * *

"What'cha got there? A journal?" Cody asked, making his way over to the stump that Gwen was sitting on with as much swagger as he could muster.

"Beat it." Gwen said, not looking up.

"Oh, I get it. It's private, huh?" Cody asked, sitting down on the stump beside her. "I'm down with that; yeah, it's cool, bra."

Gwen tolerated him for a short while, until he leaned over to try and read what she was writing. Pulling her diary to her chest top hide her words, she looked at him again. "What part of beat it don't you understand?"

Cody said nothing, and when the girl went back to writing, he leaned over and took a deep breath. Her eyes wide, Gwen snapped her book shut and jumped away from him. "What are you, some kind of freak?"

"You just smell really pretty." Cody responded sheepishly.

"It's just soap." Gwen said, before turning her back to the brunette boy and going off in search of a new hiding place to write.

* * *

"I'm not even going to ask." Gwen said as she stepped over the hole that Beth's baton had burned into the ground. Cody, who was still following her, hopped over it. As he made his way up the steps to the girls' cabin after her, Jo caught him by the shoulder.

"Not so fast there Cassanova." Jo said, dragging him down the steps and back to the Gophers' group.

" _Finally_!" Gwen said, relieved, as she returned her diary to its hiding place and put her swimsuit on. Grabbing her towel, she made her way outside once more, this time on her way to the dock.

Pausing to watch the latest audition for the talent show, Gwen almost seemed impressed by the stunts and tricks that Geoff could perform with his skateboard.

"Ooooh, that was like so cool!" Lindsay exclaimed when he was finished. "Jack should like totally be in the show!"

"It's Geoff." The blonde party boy corrected her.

"Okay, so I guess Geoff's in too." Heather said with a nod. "I guess we're all set for the show tonight!"

"I'm gonna be on tv, dude!" Geoff cheered as their teammates wandered off.

"You're already on tv." Gwen said, rolling her eyes in irritation before continuing on her way to the beach.

"Are you going swimming?" Geoff asked.

"No, I thought I'd go for a hike." Gwen said sarcastically.

"Sweet! I'll come with you!" Geoff said, dashing into the boys' side of the cabin and emerging dressed in his swimwear.

"Lucky me." Gwen said unenthusiastically.

"Awww, look. The first hook-up of the season." Heather said with a smirk. "How sweet."

"Wow, that was  _so_  funny that I forgot to laugh." Gwen retorted, walking towards the beach at a faster than usual pace so as to avoid walking beside Geoff.

"Oh my gosh, you have that problem too?" Lindsay asked.

Lindsay made as if she were going to follow the goth girl and the party boy to the beach, but Heather stuck out her arm. "You – stay here. We've got a diary to find."

"Uhh. . . okay." Lindsay said, turning towards the door of the cabin.

"No, you stand guard. If you see Gwen coming, warn me!" Heather said, before pulling the door shut behind her when she went into the cabin.

"Okay!" Lindsay agreed, saluting.

* * *

"Can you really stand on your hands for twenty minutes?" Mike asked Bridgette while Courtney practised her violin by the stands.

"Wanna bet that I can't?" Bridgette asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, you're on!" Mike said.

"Lightning wants a piece of that action!"

"Twenty minutes? Is that even physically possible?" Cameron asked.

"Ante up." Bridgette said, holding out her chocolate bar.

Bridgette offered up her chocolate bar and the guys all bet in cash. Once the prize had been established, Bridgette nodded.

"Alright, twenty minutes starting right . . .  _now_!" And she flipped herself upside down, and walked across the stage on her hands. Unfortunately, as she walked backstage, her leg caught in a stray rope and became tangled – but as much as she pulled and twisted, she couldn't get free.

* * *

"Isn't this place great?" Geoff asked, putting his arm around Gwen's shoulders as he attempted to make small talk. "Man, you walk fast."

"Ugh, don't touch me." Gwen said, pulling away from him.

"It's cool, bra." Geoff said, taking his arm off her shoulders and holding up his hands apologetically.

"This place sucks." Gwen stated, picking up her pace even more to escape her unwelcome companion.

"Really?" Geoff said, sounding disappointed as he sped up to match her pace. "Man, it really bites that you feel that way."

"I just need to get away from everyone here." Gwen said, hoping that he would get the hint. "Because  _everyone_  is driving me crazy."

"Aww man." Geoff said, looking disappointed by his teammate's downer attitude. Then he brightened. "Hey! Maybe I can help!"

"The idiot can't take a hint." Gwen muttered to herself under her breath.

"Come on!" Geoff said, suddenly grabbing the girl's hand and taking off at a sprint towards the end of the dock, pulling her with him.

"Wait, no!" Gwen said, resisting to no avail.

"Cannonball!" Geoff called as he jumped into the lake, pulling Gwen in with him.

The goth soon surfaced, spluttering and thrashing. Her entire body soaked, she quickly pulled herself out of the water and onto the dock. Her fists clenched, she glared at Geoff.

"I HATE THIS PLACE!" Gwen announced before storming off.

* * *

"If I were a secret diary, where would I be stashed?" Heather asked herself while outside Lindsay braided a lock of her blonde hair.

"Hey Gwen." Lindsay's voice came from outside of the cabin. "Gwen! It's you! Hi, what are you doing here outside the cabin,  _Gwen_?"

"Trying to get  _into_  the cabin." Came Gwen's unimpressed response.

"Oh, you're trying to get into the cabin? That's very interesting!" Lindsay responded loudly. "Wait! Stay here! We can . . . get tans together! And you could totally use one!"

Then she found it. Quickly flipping through the pages, it was a diary. Doing a fist pump, Heather smiled. "Yes! She is so dead!"

"Are you going to move, or do I have to throw you out of my way?" Gwen asked.

"You can try, but I have martial arts training!" Lindsay said as Heather shoved everything out of the way and tried to make the cabin look less suspicious. "Okay, you can go in!" Lindsay followed the goth girl inside. "Look, Gwen's back!"

"Hey Gwen, did you have a good swim?" Heather asked sweetly.

"What is going on in here?" Gwen asked, looking around.

Heather faked a yawn and a stretch. "Nothing, just resting before the big show. Are you always so paranoid?"

"Yeah, really?" Lindsay said before waving to Gwen and taking off after Heather.

* * *

"It's the T-D-I talent extravaganza!" Chris announced. "Welcome to the very first Camp Wawanakwa talent contest, where nine campers will showcase their mad skills and desperately try not to humiliate themselves! First up for the Screaming Gophers is Justin!"

The male model appeared on the stage, bathed in the spotlight. As his teammates cheered for him, he turned around to face the audience and began to strike different poses, building up to the climax of the act, where he sat down on a wooden stool and pulled a string, dumping a bucket of water on himself. Then he sat up and flipped his hair and flashed the audience his winning smile.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _There are two syllables for hot: Jus and Tin! Man that guy is just so hot I could kiss him!" Owen told the camera, before realizing what the implications of his words were. "Because he's a good teammate! D'oh! Why'd I say that?"_

* * *

"Okay, I don't know what that was, but dang, you've got some moves, dude!" Chris said as a seven out of ten flashed on the Chef-o-meter. As Justin made his way off the stage, Chris continued. "First up for the Killer Bass – give it up for the big guy: DJ!"

"Woo, yeah!" cheered the Bass as DJ made his way onto the stage in a white leotard and began a ribbon dance.

It started out as graceful and majestic as it had been earlier that day during the auditions. However, DJ did a different step and the ribbon ended up wound around his ankles and he stumbled for a moment, almost falling on his face before he used his strength to pull free the ribbon and decided to end the performance, smiling as though he'd meant to do that.

"Dainty and yet masculine. Let's see what Grand Master Chef thinks." Chris said as a two out of ten flashed on the Chef-o-meter. "Not much. Next up is Courtney!"

The brunette walked onto to the stage and almost immediately caught the attention of a certain blue eyed punk. He raised an eyebrow as she raised her violin and began to play a solo.

When the sweet chords of Courtney's violin finally came to an end, Chris walked into the stage, motioning to the Chef-o-meter, which was flashing an eight out of ten.

"Not bad." Chris said. "So, with three down and six to go, it's the Thrashing Bears thrashing ahead. Next on deck is Trent – take it away my bro!"

Trent made his way to centre-stage and sat down on the chair that had been set out for him. As he got ready to play his guitar, he searched the stands with his green eyes, seeking out the pretty goth girl he'd had a crush on since he'd first laid eyes on her on the dock on his first day at Camp Wawanakwa. "This one goes out to someone special here at Camp."

He began to strum his guitar and sang his song about their time at camp.

"Nice work!" Chris said, running out onto the stage as the other campers applauded. "I'm liking your style, dude! And so does Grand Master Chef! Nine out of ten!"

"Yes!  _Nine_  points!" Trent cheered.

"Woo! Go Trent!" Zoey called out.

"Alright quit hogging my light, buddy." Chris said, shoving Trent backstage when the musician failed to move immediately. "Four down and five to go with the Killer Bass totally sucking so far. Can they redeem themselves with their next talent? Let's hear it for Heather!"

"Originally, I was going to dance for you." Heather said, coming out on stage in her ballerina attire and taking a seat on the wooden stool that had been set out on the stage for her. "But instead I want to celebrate team spirit with a collaboration."

Heather held up Gwen's diary and smirked at the goth girl, whose eyes went wide when she realized what book Heather held in her hands. Shock and dread filled her tone. "She wouldn't."

"So, with words by Gwen, performance by me – enjoy." Heather said. " _Hem, hem_. 'Okay, so, I've been trying to ignore him but he hasn't been making it easy. He's just so cute and he's always making excuses to come and talk to me. If they had custom ordered a guy to be a distraction to me here, it would have been McHotty.'"

"Yeah, I knew she was hooked on the Codester." Cody said quietly, leaning back on the bleachers as coolly as he could.

"'We just totally connect and I think he's pretty much the only person I can relate to here. And I know it's a cliche but I love guys who play guitar.'"

"Wait, I don't play the guitar." Cody said, glancing around at his teammates. His disappointed blue gaze came to rest on Trent's guitar.

"'The only thing is – I don't get the whole thing with that redhead on his team. One minute he's making out with Zoey on the bleachers and the next thing I know he's snagging me an extra muffin from the kitchen! I don't understand – can't he make up his mind who he wants?'"

"Uh, Trent? I think I've figure out why she's been so cold towards you lately." Zoey said as she and Trent exchanged an awkward glance.

"Uh yeah, me too." Trent said with a nod before the duo shifted away from one another, trying to put additional distance between them on the bleachers. Zoey put her half-eaten muffin down on the seat of the bench between them.

Heather watched as Gwen fled the scene, before closing the diary with a satisfied smirk. "Thank you."

"That was so mean." Courtney said to her teammate backstage.

"Seriously." Bridgette agreed with a nod, still upside down – her leg still caught in the rope. "Hey, Courtney? Can you help me? I've been standing on my hands so long they're starting to go numb."

"Yeah, sure." The brunette said, putting her violin aside to help untangle her friend.

"Thanks. Want me to go set up for the next act?" Bridgette said as she righted herself at last, and stumbled around for a few seconds on wobbly legs.

"Sure." Courtney said, letting go of the rope – which quickly zoomed upwards. Eyes wide, Courtney stared up as the rope seemed to untie itself – releasing a spotlight. "Uh-oh."

"Ooooh, now that was cold!" Chris said, motioning to the Chef-o-meter, which was flashing a full ten out of ten. "Next up is-"

"Watch out!" Courtney called out to the host.

Chris jumped out of the way in a panic as a spotlight came crashing down seconds later right where he'd been standing only moments before. It shattered upon impact and not only covered the stage in broken bits of plastic, metal and glass but left a dent in the stage.

"Uh, due to some technical difficulties, we will be right back!" Chris said, before hollering for some interns. "Clean up on stage centre!"

"I will be right back." Zoey told Trent as she left the bleachers.

* * *

"Gwen! Wait up!" Zoey called as she caught up to the goth girl.

"Leave me alone." The goth said.

"I want to talk to you." Zoey said.

"Don't worry, I'm not in the habit of stealing boyfriends. Trent's all yours." Gwen said, trying to hide the fact that she was crying.

"But that's what I'm trying to tell you! Trent's not my boyfriend!"

The goth paused. "He's not?"

"Nope. I don't know who told you that we were making out, but trust me – we're just friends. Totally platonic."

"Nobody told me you guys were making out – I saw it with my own eyes!"

"What? When?"

"During the dodgeball tournement!"

"I swear we haven't – oooooooh! I know what you saw!"

"So you two  _did_  kiss?"

"No, definitely not! I don't like him like that, trust me!" Zoey said. "But when Tyler threw one of his murder balls, it flew into the stands and Trent tripped and fell on me when we were trying to get out of the way. It was  _so_ awkward."

"Well. . . that's good to know, I guess." Gwen said, still teary-eyed.

"And in case you were wondering – Trent totally likes you." Zoey said with a smile.

"He does?" Gwen asked hopefully.

"Come on, wanna go back? He did save you a seat, after all."

Gwen seemed to consider it for a moment, before shaking her head. "No, I can't show my face there again."

"What Heather did was totally mean." Zoey said. "But by you running off – you're letting her think she's won."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." Gwen said with a sigh. "Fine, you win."

"You're so lucky." Zoey said as the two began to walk back towards the amphitheatre.

"Heather just read my diary on national television – how exactly is that lucky?"

"Trent's so into you – you're going to be so cute together."

"Hey, I thought you said you weren't into Trent."

"I'm not." Zoey assured her. "I kinda like that guy on the Bears' team though – Mike."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure he's got a thing for his teammate, Bridgette."

"Oh, that's a shame." Gwen said. "Are you sure?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you have proof that they're an item? Because what if they're like I thought you and Trent were?"

"No, I'm pretty sure they're together in a romantic way."

"Have you actually seen them kissing or holding hands or being otherwise romantic and coupley with one another?"

"Yeah, Mike and Bridgette were all cuddled up together at the awake-a-thon. Can't get much more coupley than that."

"That sucks. I'm sorry."

"No worries! Now, let's hurry back so we're in time for the next act!"

* * *

"Welcome back! Can the Bears top Gwen's diary reading by Heather? Probably not! But let's give it up for Lightning anyway!"

The macho boy walked onto the stage while a very disappointed-looking Mike pushed a cart of footballs onto the stage with him. There were various targets set up on the stage and Bridgette was working on setting up the last few in the woods behind the bleachers.

"SHA-LIGHTNING!" The boy exclaimed, grabbing the first football and smashing a hole through the very centre of the closest target. Then, one-by-one, he busted a hole in the very centre of every remaining target with his footballs.

"Impressive! Chef approves." Chris said, walking out onto the stage as the Chef-o-meter flashed a score of seven out of ten. "Next we shall be witnessing the magnificent talents of the great Alejandro!"

"Chris, you make it sound as though I'm going to do some lame magic tricks or something." Alejandro said.

"Hey! Magic tricks aren't lame!" Harold shouted from the audience.

"I would like to dedicate this song to a special lady in the audience." Alejandro said, scanning the audience with his green-blue eyes, pausing the longest on Heather, before he continued on, teasing many females in the audience with his charming smile.

After Alejandro's accordion solo was finished, many of the girls in the audience went wild – even more excited by Alejandro's performance than they had been by both Justin's pure sexiness and Trent's cute love song.

"Whoever said the accordion was dead was apparently wrong." Chris said, smirking as he walked onto the stage, the Chef-o-meter flashing a score of eight out of ten. "Nicely done, bro. Next up are the Bass with Geoff!"

Standing up to make his way backstage, Geoff jumped onto his skateboard, which broke in half. "Aww man, that seriously wrecks the ride!"

"What are we going to do now?" Beth asked in distress.

"What about Harold, eh?" Ezekiel suggested.

"Do we have another choice?" Leshawna asked.

Beth shook her head and walked up to the nerdy boy, who was sitting on the bleachers. "Harold, it's your time to shine."

"Booyah!" Harold cheered, jumping up and running onto the stage.

"It seems we have a last minute substitution – Harold will be representing the Bass." Chris announced as Harold made his way onto the stage.

"WHAT?!" Heather's angry voice came from backstage as the nerd walked up to the microphone, seeming nervous.

"You can do it Harold!" Beth, Tyler and Ezekiel cheered from the bleachers.

At his teammates' prompting, he then proceeded to completely wow the entire audience with his mad beatboxing skills.

"Wicked beatboxing, dude!" Chris said, applauding as he came out onto the stage. The Chef-o-meter was flashing a full ten. " Chef liked it so much that he's giving you a grand score of fifteen out of ten! Wow, it would really suck to have to follow that!"

"That's not fair!" Courtney whined. "The rating system was only out of ten!"

"Next up are the Thrashing Bears!" Chris announced, ignoring Courtney completely. "Can they redeem themselves?"

* * *

"Scott, are you sure you're ready?" Courtney asked the ginger-haired boy as the two stood backstage together, prepping for their team's final act.

"Of course. I'll have whittled grade 'A' Chris and Chef busts in no time at all." Scott assured the brunette. "You know how much Chris loves himself. We'll definitely win."

"Out of my way, losers." Eva said, shoving Scott aside and making her way onto the stage as Sadie followed her, carrying her stereo.

"What are you two doing?!" Courtney asked in alarm.

"We're going to show these losers what real talent is!" Eva said as she made her way onto the stage.

"Oh my gosh! Eva's totally amazing!" Sadie said, before running onstage after her friend, putting the stereo down and pressing the play button. Then, as Eva had instructed her, Sadie ran backstage to dance, so that the audience wouldn't be distracted from Eva's act.

And surprised as the cast had been when Harold had beatboxed his way to stardom onstage, the only thing that could possibly top their amazement would have been Eva's epic moves, which the bodybuilder demonstrated to them all.

Mouths hanging agape in amazement, the audience stared in wonder as Eva started breakdancing – and she was actually really  _good_  at it too.

"Wow, that was pretty awesome!" Chris said as the Chef-o-meter flashed an eight out of ten score for Eva. "But despite Eva's cool moves on the dancefloor, Grand Master Chef has declared the Killer Bass to be the winners! Gophers are in second place and that means I will be seeing the Bears at the campfire ceremony again tonight."

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Okay, so I totally miss Katie, and she's still my BFFFL, but whoever said you can't have two BFFFLs? Eva is actually so totally cool!" Sadie told the camera. "And oh my gosh, can she ever dance! She's been teaching me how to be all independent and stuff! She is so cool!"_

* * *

"If only Eva hadn't decided to show off, we wouldn't be sending someone else home tonight!" Scott said to those teammates of his who were sitting on the steps.

"Well, she was actually pretty good." Bridgette said, while Mike nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, but you guys know how much Chris loves himself!" Scott said. "My sculptures of Chris and Chef would have won for sure!"

"He's got a point there." Courtney said.

"Lightning thought he was better than all of ya'll." the athlete told them all.

* * *

"Cam is actually such a sweetie! I don't wanna vote him out." Sadie said.

"We have to keep this team strong – we need to vote out the weak links." Eva told her. "And Cam's the weak link."

"I guess we're doing what's best for the team." Sadie agreed sadly.

* * *

"So Bears, it seems that you are on a losing streak. Sucks to be you." Chris said.

"Yeah yeah yeah, let's just get this over with." Eva growled.

Chris glared at the girl. "Marshmallows for Bridgette, Mike, Courtney and Brick."

The named contestants caught their marshmallows.

"Cameron, Izzy, Brick and Lightning."

The next four contestants caught their marshmallows while Eva looked surprised by the fact that Cam received a marshmallow.

"B and Sadie."

Eva looked around in surprise to find that she, alongside Scott, was in the bottom two.

"And the final marshmallow of the night goes to. . ."

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

"Scott."

"WHAT?!" Eva snarled angrily.

"NOOOOO!" Sadie began to wail, charging at Eva and lifting her off the ground as she pulled her into a great bear hug.

"Sadie! Put me down!" Eva commanded, her face flushing bright red with humiliation at being shown affection in such a public way.

"Eva, I'm going to miss you as much as I miss Katie!" Sadie wailed.

"Wow, really?" Eva seemed taken aback.

"Really!"

Eva's angry expression softened for a moment, and she seemed as though she was going to saw 'awwww', but then she seemed to remember who she was and resumed her angry expression.

"You're all going down!" Eva warned her former teammates, with the exceptions of B and Sadie.

"Goodbye, other BFFFL!" Sadie cried out, before releasing Eva from her bear hug and running off in a state of hysterics.

"Take care of her for me, will you?" Eva whispered to B, and the silent giant gave her a thumbs up in response. Then she turned back to her other teammates. "I WILL GET YOU FOR THIS!"

Eva's threats were temporarily paused by Chef's arrival. The ex-military man picked up the body builder and took her down to the dock, while she continued to scream profanities at her team, save Sadie and B.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Eva was a strong player, henceforth she needed to go." Scott said. "Besides, I couldn't just let her have her little alliance – I'm in charge of this team, I control who gets voted out. No, she just had to go."_

Static.

" _If that evil, conniving little cow thinks she's getting away with reading my diary to everyone, she's got another thing coming." Gwen said._

* * *

Gwen knocked on the door to the boys' side of the Bass cabin, and was pleased when Harold answered the door. "Did you say you brought a red ant farm with you?"

"Yeah." Harold answered.

"Can I borrow it?" Gwen asked.

"Sure." Harold answered, puzzled. He disappeared for a moment before returning with it and handing it to the goth girl.

"Thanks." Gwen said, making her way back to the girl's side of the cabin. "Come meet auntie Heather."

Then she dumped the entire ant farm into Heather's bed before crawling back into her own. Heather arrived moments later and got into bed, before jumping out seconds later, screaming and covered from head to toe in red ants.

Gwen chuckled to herself as Heather fled the cabin. "Sweet dreams, everyone."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Eliminated so far:**
> 
> 37th: Katie
> 
> 36th: Staci
> 
> 35th: Sierra
> 
> 34th: Sam
> 
> 33rd: Eva
> 
> * * *
> 
> **Still in the Game:**
> 
> **Screaming Gophers:**  Dawn, Alejandro, Ann Maria, Noah, Dakota, Justin, Cody, Trent, Zoey, Jo, Owen
> 
> **Killer Bass:** Duncan, LeShawna, Geoff, Gwen, Heather, Lindsay, Harold, Beth, Tyler, DJ, Ezekiel
> 
> **Thrashing Bears:** Sadie, Cameron, Brick, Courtney, Scott, Beverly, Lightning, Izzy, Bridgette, Mike


	7. The Sucky Outdoors

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's into the great outdoors for a night with our teens! But will they all survive? Not if Chris has anything to say about it!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Teams:**
> 
> **Screaming Gophers:**  Dawn, Alejandro, Ann Maria, Noah, Dakota, Justin, Cody, Trent, Zoey, Jo, Owen
> 
> **Killer Bass:** Duncan, LeShawna, Geoff, Gwen, Heather, Lindsay, Harold, Beth, Tyler, DJ, Ezekiel
> 
> **Thrashing Bears:** Sadie, Cameron, Brick, Courtney, Scott, Beverly, Lightning, Izzy, Bridgette, Mike

"Last time on Total Drama Island, a talent contest brought out the worst in our campers – it was awesome!" Chris announced. "Everything was put on display: the hot, the talented and the just plain embarrassing! Alejandro showed that the accordion isn't dead after all, and Cody struck out with Gwen – big time. Tensions were running high on the Killer Bass team: Gwen stood up to Heather who retaliated by reading Gwen's diary out loud for the entire viewing world to hear. Harold showed that he actually has some mad skills when he beat-boxed the Bass to victory – who knew? Eva broke it down on stage and Scott broke down Eva's alliance by convincing the Bears to vote her off. Who will get sent home this time on Total Drama Island?"

_**Cue theme song.** _

"Campers, today's challenge will test your outdoor survival skills. I'm not going to lie: some of you might not even come back alive." Chris said, evoking gasps of horror from the teens. He laughed at their response. "Just joking. All you have to do is spend one night in the woods. Everything you need is at your team's campsite in the forest. You just have to find it."

"I'm great at survivin' in the woods, eh." Ezekiel told his team confidently.

Chris tossed a map and a compass to Heather, Cameron and Zoey. He began to walk away, before pausing. "Oh, yeah, and watch out for bears. We lost a few interns in pre-production."

"Ow! Papercut!" Cameron cried out, dropping the map and clutching his hand tightly as though it was the worst pain he'd ever experienced in his life.

"Watch the map!" Courtney barked, snatching the map off the ground and glaring at Cameron.

"Once, my neighbour got hit in the head by a newspaper and he got a papercut and bled to death." Izzy said.

Cameron only whimpered in response.

"Don't worry Cam, you won't bleed to death." Bridgette said, giving the boy a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's impossible." Trent agreed.

"As concerning as papercuts are. . ." Noah said sarcastically, before Leshawna cut him off.

"Did he say there were  _bears_  up in here?"

"I had an encounter with a bear once." Owen bragged. "Let's just say his head looks real nice up on my mantle."

"Oh! This one time, I saw a bear eating our garbage. He had old spaghetti noodles hanging from his big, huge teeth and it looked like blood and guts – so gross! And we thought he was eating the neighbour's cat Simba, but it turns out he was just lost for a week." Izzy told Sadie and Bridgette, who were looking equally disturbed.

"Fascinating." Noah deadpanned, rolling his eyes at the ginger-haired girl.

"Uh. . . you didn't eat spaghetti, did you?" Izzy asked Sadie and Bridgette, who both shook their heads in response.

"Izzy, that's enough." Courtney said, unfolding the map. "Alright gang, everybody follow me!"

"Comrades, we must not fall behind – even if the other team is lead by an attractive and capable former-C.I.T.!" Alejandro said, catching Courtney's attention. The brunette blushed, earning Alejandro a dirty look from Duncan.

"Hey!" Heather cried out indignantly. "There are  _three_  teams!"

* * *

**Confessional**

" _There is definitely nothing between me and that neanderthal – Duncan." Courtney said. "But Ale_ hunk _dro on the other hand. . . well, we'll see."_

Static.

" _Very clever, Alejandro, very clever." Jo said, stroking her chin with her thumb and index finger as though she had a beard. "Throwing two teams off their game like that? Genius. Just one little thing:" She focused on the camera menacingly. "Better watch your back, Al, I'll be gunning for ya."_

* * *

"We don't have all day,  _gorgeous_." Duncan said irritably, snatching the map out of Heather's hands and beginning to read.

"Whoa,  _someone_ 's jealous." Geoff whispered to Gwen, who glared in response.

"Don't talk to me." Gwen told him, arms folded over her chest as she walked into the woods, not waiting for directions from her teammates.

Geoff jogged to catch up to the goth girl. "Hey, if this is about the whole diary thing-"

"Please leave me alone." Gwen cut him off.

"-I just want you to know that I'm here to listen-"

"Thanks, but no thanks. I'm fine."

"-if you need to talk." He reached out and put a comforting arm around the goth girl's shoulders.

"Don't touch me." Gwen said, taking Geoff's arm off her shoulders and twisting it up his back.

The party guy gasped in pain. "Ow! Okay, okay, okay!"

The goth released him. "Don't talk to me. Don't touch me. Don't even walk with me. Got it?"

"Yeah, it's cool, bra!" Geoff said, halting in his tracks to rub his sore arm. He fell back in step with his other teammates, several paces behind Gwen.

"She is  _so_  the next one to go." Heather declared, scratching the red bumps that covered her arms and legs.

"Who?" Duncan asked, glancing up from the map. "Pasty?"

"She dumped Harold's red ant farm  _into my bed_!"

"After you read her diary on international television." the juvenile delinquent said. "I'd say that's fair."

Heather halted in her tracks, causing the rest of the team to bump into one another. The Asian beauty whirled around and glared at Duncan. "And I'm sure that  _you're_  an expert when it comes to what's fair." she snapped. "What with all your juvie experience and all."

"You got that right, _gorgeous_." Duncan responded drily. "Now keep moving so we can find our campsite before dark."

"She is going  _down_!" Heather declared. "And if you want to go down with her, that's fine by me."

Duncan rolled his eyes and walked passed her, taking the leadership role for their team.

"Whoa, that was pretty harsh." Geoff commented to himself.

* * *

The blonde was holding her cell phone up in the air, frowning as angle after angle failed. Groaning in irritation, she brushed off her hands and walked up to a tree, beginning to climb it.

"Uhh. . . Dakota? What are you doing?" Cody asked the girl, raising an eyebrow at her as she hung from a tree, thighs gripping the trunk and one hand hanging onto an upper branch. Her hand searched the air with her cell phone, desperately trying to find service.

The sound of his voice seemed to startle her, and she shrieked as she fell out of the tree, landing on the brunette boy, who grunted as his breath was knocked out of him.

"Gosh darn it!" Dakota whined, looking at her cell phone screen again, dismayed.

"What's wrong?" Cody asked from under the girl.

"I can't get any service out here!" she answered.

"Want me to take a look?"

"You'd do that for me?"

"Sure – just one little thing. Can you get off of me, please?"

Dakota's eyes went wide as she suddenly realized that she was sitting on the boy's back. She jumped up, eyes wide. "Oh! Sorry!"

Cody sighed in relief as the girl's weight lifted from his back, and he got to his feet. He held out his hand. "Let me see?"

"I hope you can fix it." Dakota said solemnly as she places her precious cell phone in Cody's waiting hand.

"I'll do my best." he promised.

* * *

"B, can I ask you a question?" Sadie asked anxiously as the two followed the Thrashing Bears on a hike through the woods.

The silent genius shrugged in response, his lips puckered in confusion. What question could  _he_  possibly answer for her?

"About our alliance – you still want to be in an alliance with me now that Eva's gone, right?" she asked.

B responded with a nod before giving the girl a thumbs up.

Sadie sighed with relief, before biting her lip. "B, did Eva ever tell you why she wanted me in the alliance? What she thought I brought to it?"

B puckered his lips while he thought for a moment, before shaking his head 'no'.

"Oh." Sadie said quietly. Then, after a few moments of silence, she spoke again. "What  _do_  I bring to the alliance?"

B shrugged again.

"I mean, you're the intelligence, and Eva was our strength. What did I bring?"

B put an index finger to his lips, which were puckered as he thought. He tapped his finger against his lips for a moment, before his eyes grew wide, indicating that he'd come up with an answer.

He held up his hands, and used his index finger and thumb on each both hands to form a heart.

Sadie gasped in shock. "You love me?"

B shook his head.

Sadie's voice reflected the alarm on her face. "Eva loves me?!"

B shook his head again.

Sadie sighed with relief. "What are you saying, B?"

B held up his hands again, this time forming the letter 'E' with his fingers.

"Eva?" Sadie guessed.

B nodded and then flexed his arm, pointing at his muscles.

"Muscles?" Sadie nodded. "Eva is the muscle of our alliance."

B flashed her a thumbs-up before pointing to himself.

"You. B." Sadie said.

The boy took off his hat and pointed at his head.

"Head – brain – smart?" Sadie guessed. "You're the brains of our operation."

B nodded again.

"That's what I said. See? I don't fit in."

B made an 'S' with his fingers now, then pointed at Sadie.

"Me. Sadie."

B made the heart symbol with his hands again, pulling his hands in and pressing his hands against his chest.

"Heart?" Sadie asked, her eyes growing wide. "You think I'm the heart of the alliance? B, you're so sweet!"

B shrugged nonchalantly.

"You know what?" Sadie asked, as she wiped away a tear from her cheek.

B shrugged as if to ask 'what?'.

"You're officially my first ever BMFFL."

B raised an eyebrow at her.

"It means you're my 'Best Male Friend For Life'." she explained.

B smiled and flashed the girl another thumbs-up.

* * *

"Uhhh. . . there's no food here." Owen said, surveying the supplies that had been left at their campsite.

"This  _is_  a survival challenge." Trent said, holding one side of the map.

"Yeah, look at the instructions." Zoey said, holding the other side of the map.

"I wonder if there are any bears around today." Owen said, glancing at Ann Maria. "Wouldn't it be funny if we made some bear sounds and then they came?"

Ann Maria paused her hairspray for a moment to raise an eyebrow at him. "No."

"ROOOOOOAAAAAR, I'M A BEAR!" Owen roared, curling his hands like claws.

"Comrade, perhaps it would be for the best if were weren't to summon any bears to our campsite for the moment." Alejandro said.

"Yeah! Listen to Al!" Ann Maria said, failing to notice Alejandro twitch as she suddenly grabbed onto one of Alejandro's wonderful arms, and fluttering her eyelashes at him.

"Yeah, I guess." Owen said, kicking at the ground like a scolded child.

"It says we're supposed to find our own food." Zoey told her teammates.

Ann Maria glanced down at the pile of supplies, then wrinkled her nose. "I still don't see it."

Trent and Zoey chuckled in unison, before Trent spoke. "I think they mean in the woods."

"I'll go!" Owen volunteered, starting to make his way towards the woods. "I'm good at finding food!"

"I'll bet you are." Jo agreed. Then she glanced around at her teammates. "Hey, has anyone seen Blondie and the Dweeb?"

"Blondie's right here." Noah said, glancing up from his book long enough to motion towards Dawn, who was meditating. She opened one eye to look at him, but didn't seem amused nor bothered in the slightest.

"No, the other one." Jo said. "Dakota."

Her teammates glanced around and shrugged.

* * *

"Hey, just calm down." Scott's voice said soothingly.

"How can I calm down?! Just look at our map!" Courtney shrieked.

"Well I'm sure Brick didn't do it on purpose." Scott said.

"I thought you said you were competent!" Courtney shouted at Brick. "'I'm a cadet!' you said, 'I'm great with maps!' you said! But look at where it's got us!"

"Hey, go easy on the guy." Scott said. "It was an accident. Brick wouldn't sabotage his own team now, would he?"

"It's okay." Brick said to Scott, before turning back to Courtney. "Ma'am, I take full responsibility for my incompetence. If you choose to banish me from the team, it will be what I deserve."

The brunette turned her back to her team, her finger on her lips.

"Oh come on, you can't actually be  _considering_  banishing him!" Bridgette said. When Courtney did not respond, Bridgette looked alarmed. "In the woods?  _At night_? Courtney, have you lost your mind?"

"Bridgette, look at this." Courtney said at last, turning around and handing Bridgette a torn and muddied piece of paper to her teammate. It had been torn in half by a submerged branch, and half of it was lost. The team had tried to find it, but had given up and tried to follow the other half of the map instead. That had ended the entire group of them ankle deep in thick, sucking mud.

"You're going to kick him off the team because of an accident?!" Bridgette asked, still trying to make Courtney see some sense.

"No." Courtney said. Bridgette sighed with relief. Courtney narrowed her eyes. "No, it's more like temporary solitary confinement."

"Yes, ma'am." Brick said, saluting the brunette and then starting to fight his way through the mud, making his way away from his team.

" _Courtney_!" Bridgette said pleadingly.

"That was like so totally harsh." Sadie whispered to B, her eyes wide with fear as she glanced at Courtney.

* * *

"I'm so hungry." Zoey said, her arms folded against her stomach. "It feels like my stomach is about to digest itself."

"I am man! I bring fish!" Owen announced, arriving from the bushes with a makeshift rope tied around several fish.

"Aw, yeah. Now that's what I'm talking about!" Ann Maria said.

"Oh man, you're awesome!" Trent said.

"Those look great, Owen!" Zoey agreed. "I bet they're going to be super yummy!"

"How do  _you_  know how to fish?" Jo asked, raising an eyebrow at Owen.

"My grandpa taught me." Owen said. "I caught a shark once. It bit me in the butt. Check it out."

Without waiting for a response, Owen dropped his pants and bent over so that his teammates could see the shark-bite scar on his pale buttocks. However, his teammates instead responded by covering their eyes and trying not to look.

* * *

"Dakota, I thought you said they went this way." Cody said with a frustrated sigh.

"They did! I swear! I saw them go this way!" Dakota responded, sitting down on a log. "My feet are tired!"

"Mine too." Cody sat down beside her. "Maybe we should just set up camp for the night, it's getting dark now and we've been walking for  _hours_."

"Set up camp?  _Here_? In the middle of the woods?" Dakota repeated, shocked.

"Well, this  _is_  a wilderness survival challenge." Cody said. "Chris said that we've gotta spend a night in the woods."

* * *

"Gwen, are you going to help or not?" Heather demanded, her arms crossed as she stood over the other girl.

The goth girl, who'd been sketching in her lap, only looked up with a bored expression. "Not."

"And why not?" Heather asked loudly.

"Because I don't want to." Gwen said.

"Some kind of team spirit you've got there!" Heather said.

"Why don't  _you_  help, instead-a nagging everyone else to?" Leshawna challenged, her hands on her hips and her eyebrows raised.

"I'm  _team captain_." Heather retorted, flipping her hair.

"You are one pretentious little-" Leshawna started, before Geoff cut her off.

"Whoa, chill bras. Things are getting way too heavy. Just chill, the tent's almost ready anyway."

"Don't you worry your pretty little head, us menfolk can handle the tent." Duncan said to Heather. "Besides, you women have more important things to worry about – like figuring out what's for dinner. I'm starving."

"Oh drop dead." Heather snapped in response.

"That's a good point, eh." Ezekiel said with a nod.

"And why can't  _you_  organize the food?" Leshawna challenged. "You didn't even help put up the tent – Geoff and I did the entire thing!"

"But you're the woman, eh-" Ezekiel began, before Leshawna turned to him, her hands on her hips.

"And just what are you implying, you scrawny little white boy?" Leshawna demanded. "That all women are good for are cooking and cleaning?"

Leshawna's up-in-your-face attitude made Zeke suddenly lose his nerve, and he shook his head. He backed away from her without another word.

"That's what I thought." Leshawna said.

"Hey guys, look what I found!" DJ called to his teammates as he emerged from the woods, holding a small, grey bunny in his arms.

"Well, I've never had rabbit stew before, but what the heck, I'm game." Duncan said.

DJ gasped. "This is my new pet! I'm calling him 'Bunny'."

"Awwww, he's super-duper cute!" Beth said, running up to DJ. "Can I pet him?"

"Sure." DJ agreed, and the brunette reached up to scratch the little grey bunny behind the ears.

"You couldn't find  _any_  food?" Heather asked in irritation.

"We can always eat grubs and berries for dinner." Harold began. "Grubs are actually really high in protein and-"

"EW, gross! You can  _not_  be serious!" Heather retorted, gagging.

Ezekiel walked to the treeline and lifted up a rock, bringing back a handful of wriggling, white grubs. He held out his hand to offer one to Heather. "They're actually pretty good, eh."

"You don't actually expect me to eat those, do you?" Heather asked, slapping his hand away and making grubs fly all over the place. "That's disgusting!"

Suddenly Lindsay began screaming at the top of her lungs. "It went down my shirt, it went down my shirt! Get it out, get it out!"

* * *

"Okay, fire's hot, fish are grilling, tent is tenting." Owen said, verbally checking off his mental checklist.

"Nice work, man." Trent praised him. "The fish looks awesome."

"I've gotta say, I'm impressed, Owen. You did a really good job tonight." Jo said with a nod.

"Really?" Owen asked, his eyes wide with having received praise from his most callous teammate.

"Indeed, I think we are all impressed by Owen's survival skills." Alejandro said.

"We're so lucky to have him on our team." Jo said.

Owen seemed to be sucking in the praise like a giant sponge. "And I owe it all to Grandpa!"

"So you and your grandpa really fought a bear once?" Zoey asked.

"Heck yes." Owen said. "It was the scariest day of my entire life." He began miming his actions as he told the story. "We were out in the woods when we came upon the great beast. I tell you, he was ten feet high if he was a foot! Then he roared his terrible roar! AAOOOWWRRRRRR! So we grabbed out shotgun – we knew it was either him or us. Was nothing personal, just the law of the wild! And BAM! One shot was all it took to fell the great beast. We took his blood and marked ourselves with it to honour him. It was a good death."

"That was a fascinating tale, Owen!" Alejandro said.

"Wow, we're so lucky to have someone so skilled on our team!" Jo said.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Two may be able to play, my dear Jo, but only one can win." Alejandro told the confessional camera. "You can't best me at my own game."_

Static.

" _Would I normally be so nice to that great oaf, Owen? Of course not." Jo confessed. "But I can't just let Alejandro win his allegiance. Owen is the perfect alliance member – he's obedient and naive."_

* * *

"You shouldn't brag about having committed such horrible deeds, Owen." Dawn said with a frown, opening her silver-blue eyes wide. "Even if they aren't true."

"I forgot to warn you – Fluttershy doesn't like it if you talk about harming her little animal friends." Noah commented sarcastically.

Owen's eyes were wide. "H-how did you know it wasn't a true story?"

"Didn't you get the memo, big guy? She reads minds." Noah deadpanned.

"GREAT GALLOPING GUPPIES!" Owen exclaimed, his hands flying to cover his head as though that would help protect his brain from Dawn's invasive mind-reading.

"Try a tin-foil hat, it might be more effective." Noah suggested to Owen sarcastically.

"Just because  _you_  are uncomfortable around me, does not justify you to treat me rudely and influence others to be uncomfortable as well." Dawn said, narrowing her eyes at Noah.

"You don't need  _my_  help making others uncomfortable around you, honey." Noah said. "You do that well enough on your own."

* * *

"I can't believe we managed to find our campsite  _without_  the map!" Mike said as he, Bridgette and Courtney worked on putting up their team's tent.

"That was like a total stroke of luck!" Sadie agreed with a nod.

"Yeah, like Scott knowing how to hunt." Izzy agreed, turning to her teammate. "Where did you learn to hunt with blunt objects like that?"

Scott studied the branch in his hands nonchalantly. "Oh, my Papi taught me."

"That was _so_ lucky." Izzy said. "We wouldn't have any supper without you!" Izzy said, staring longingly at the skinned creatures roasting on a makeshift spit above the fire pit.

"Speaking of supper, it should be ready by now." Courtney asked as she left Mike and Bridgette to put the finishing touches on the tent.

* * *

"DJ, Bunny is so cute. Can I hold him?" Beth pleaded. "Please? Please? Please? Please? Please? Please?"

DJ frowned for a moment, then nodded. "Okay, but be careful."

"Thank you!" Beth squealed as DJ handed the furry grey bundle to her. "I promise I'll be super-duper careful!"

"You know, this reminds me of this really scary story I heard once." Duncan said.

"Awesome!" Geoff said. "Tell it man!"

"Are you sure?" Duncan asked. "The story I'm thinking of is pretty hardcore."

"Oooh, we're  _so_  scared." Heather said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you." Duncan said. "One night, a lot like this one. . ."

* * *

Bridgette shifted her position, trying to get comfortable. Then, deciding she couldn't hold it any longer, sat up.

"What's the matter? Did you hear something?" Cameron asked her in alarm.

"No, I've gotta pee." Bridgette said. "Like crazy, but I'm too scared to leave the tent."

"Oh." Cameron said, before holding up a jar of yellow liquid. "Me too."

She took a deep breath. "I've gotta be brave."

She rose and walked out of the tent, but was promptly ambushed by a bat, which got caught in her hair. Freaking out, Bridgette tried to dislodge the bat from her hair, but the silhouette she cast on the side of the tent made her teammates tremble with fear.

Then everything went up in flames.  _Literally_. When she managed to get the bat out of her hair, she tripped over the fire pit and kicked an ember onto the tent, which burst into flames and then disintegrated almost instantly.

Shocked, Courtney stood up to survey the damage. Then, her eyes narrowed, she turned to Bridgette, her fists clenched angrily. "This is just great, Bridgette! Now we have nowhere to sleep!"

"It was an accident, I swear!" Bridgette said.

"Oh relax, bossy girl." Lightning said, rolling his eyes at Courtney.

"RELAX?!" Courtney screeched. "HOW CAN I RELAX? THINGS COULD NOT POSSIBLY GET-"

Mike put a hand over Courtney's mouth to stop her finishing that sentence. "Don't tempt fate. Or Chris."

"You're not going to banish me too, are you?" Bridgette asked fearfully as Courtney shoved Mike's hand away from her mouth.

"No, of course she's not." Mike said, rolling his eyes as he picked himself up off the ground and brushed himself off.

"And why shouldn't I?" Courtney challenged, turning to Mike, her hands on her hips.

"This is just ridiculous!" Mike responded. "Just because Brick was okay with it, doesn't mean everyone else is too!"

"Are you questioning my authority?"

"What authority? You're not team leader! We're supposed to make decisions as a group!"

"I am the only one with actual  _C.I.T._  camping experience! You have to listen to me!"

Mike gasped. "Bossy young whippersnapper! Why, back in my day, there were no such things as C.I.T.s!"

"What is your issue?"

"My issue? You're the one with issues, little missy!"

"Little missy?  _Little missy_?!" Courtney growled. "Just who do you think you are?"

"Relax, drama queen. Everything's going to be okay." Scott said, rolling his eyes. "I saw a cave on the way here. It'll take us two minutes to walk there."

* * *

"So suddenly, they heard this tap-tap-tapping on the side of the car. The girl started to freak out, and by this time even the guy was getting a bit scared, so he turned the car on and he stepped on it. When they got back to the girl's house, she opened the door and screamed, because there, hanging from the door was the bloody hook. They say that this killer is alive, wandering these very woods. He could be just about anywhere really, maybe even . . . HERE!" Duncan pulled out a prop hook, evoking screams of terror from several of his teammates.

DJ and Beth were both holding Bunny between them, Beth stroking his grey fur almost compulsively. Geoff's face appeared to be frozen in a grimace, while Lindsay was clutching Tyler. Leshawna, Harold and Heather were hiding behind DJ. Ezekiel had pulled his hat down over his eyes.

"That was so not funny!" Heather screeched as Duncan tried his very hardest to stop laughing at his terrified teammates.

"Oh yes it was. I just wish it was all on camera." Duncan said, faking a sudden realization. "Oh wait, it  _is_!"

"Is that  _really_  the best you've got?"

Duncan's laughter stopped instantly and he looked down at the goth who was drawing in her sketchbook, looking otherwise bored. "What's that pasty? Think you can do better?"

"I don't think, I know." She didn't even look up.

"You're on, then." Duncan said.

"If you insist." Gwen said, standing up and brushing the bits of grass and dust from her skirt. "Now that we're done with the fairytales. . ."

"Oh no, we do not need any more-" Heather began to protest.

Gwen cut her off. "Why's that Heather? You scared?"

Heather flipped her hair, her nose in the air. "No, of course not."

"Well then why are you complaining?" Gwen asked, narrowing her eyes, before she began her story. "So these three girls decide to go camping at Muskoka Campgrounds, near Camp Wawanakwa, actually. . ."

* * *

"Well, at least we have a roof over our heads." Courtney said with a sigh.

"Are you sure this is safe?" Cameron asked, his eyes wide as he looked around. "I mean the roof could cave in at any moment-"

"Oh my gosh, you're so right!" Sadie gasped, staring up at the stone ceiling above them with wide eyes.

"I highly doubt it'll cave in on us." Mike said reassured Cameron.

A little ways from the group, Scott was sitting on a rock, whittling by himself. Bridgette walked over and sat down beside him. "Hey."

"Hi." Scott greeted the girl, not looking up from his work.

Bridgette tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. "I – uh – just wanted to thank you."

"For what?" He glanced up a moment, and raised an eyebrow at the girl.

"Well if it hadn't been for you, Courtney would have banished me."

"Don't mention it." Scott said with a shrug. "It's not like it's a big deal."

"But it is." Bridgette said, putting a hand on Scott's forearm. "It's a  _really_  big deal."

"How so?"

"Well. . . I'm kind of . . .  _terrified_  of the woods." she admitted, looking down at her sandals.

"Oh. Well, glad I could help then." Scott said, shrugging again and going back to his work.

Instead of taking the hint that she'd been dismissed, Bridgette remained. "So. . . what'cha making?"

"Haven't decided yet."

Suddenly Bridgette gasped and slid closer to Scott, subconsciously grabbing his arm again. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?"

"I thought I heard something. . . like a growl. . from over there."

"I'm sure it was nothing."

"Yeah, I'm sure you're right." Bridgette said, blushing as she realized she was still cuddled up to Scott. Letting go of him as though his skin had burned her, she moved away, but still remained on the rock beside him. "Sorry."

"Don't mention it."

Bridgette stared down at her sandals as though they had suddenly become the most interesting thing in the world. After a few moments of awkward silence, she chanced a glance at her ginger-haired hero and she gasped. Her eyes grew wide. "Oh geez. . ."

"Man you're jumpy." Scott said, rolling his eyes in annoyance. "What is it now?"

"There's a bear." Bridgette said, slowly standing up and backing away from him. "There's a bear right behind you."

Scott didn't seem to think she was serious until he turned around to look for himself and saw that there actually  _was_  a bear standing right behind him, glaring at them. It seemed that only Bridgette and Scott had noticed the bear. The creature changed that in one second flat when it opened it's massive jaws and bellowed at them.

The Thrashing Bears screamed at the top of their lungs and ran for their lives, pursued from the cave mouth by not one angry bear, but three.

* * *

"I think I got it!" Cody said triumphantly.

"Huh?" The blonde beside him asked, waking with a start.

"Here." he handed her back her phone. "Try making a phone call now. Chris figured out how to block the signal, so I boosted your reception - hopefully that counters what Chris did."

"You fixed it?!" Dakota squealed. "Oh thank you thank you thank you!"

"Don't thank me yet, I don't know if what I did actually worked. Try it out."

The blonde nodded and dialled a number, her fingers working at lightning speed on the touch screen keypad. She held it up to her ear and waited.

"Is it working?" Cody asked hopefully.

"Daddy?!" Dakota squealed into the phone. "It  _is_ you! Chris Mc-Lamo-pants blocked the signal and I haven't been able to contact anyone on the outside for  _days_!" she paused as she listened to her father's response. She nodded. "Yeah, I'm so glad it's fixed now." Another pause. "Okay Daddy! Bye!" Then she turned to Cody. "OH THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!"

"You're welcome." Cody said. "Oh, hey, I had an idea-"

Dakota didn't let him finish his sentence – instead she did something that surprised the both of them. She threw her arms around him and gave him a kiss. On the lips.

* * *

**Confessional**

_Cody was grinning at the camera, his hands behind his head as he tried to act casual. "I knew it was only a matter of time before all the girls started to fall for me." He used his sleeve to wipe the remaining trace of Dakota's lipstick off his lips. "I get this problem all the time back home. All the ladies want a piece of the Codemeister."_

* * *

"Cody?" Dakota said, waving a hand in front of his stunned face.

At last, he shook his head and seem to regain consciousness. "Huh? Oh, hi Dakota."

"You were saying you had an idea?"

"An idea?" Cody repeated, before he blinked and nodded. "Oh, yeah! I was thinking I might be able to use your phone to hack into the camera feed and find out where our team is."

"Okay!"

After a moment, Cody spoke again. "Uh. . . I need your phone to do that."

Dakota's expression seemed hurt at first, then she sighed in irritation and gave up her phone.

* * *

"The fish  _has_  to be ready  _now_! I'm starving!" Owen whined, his eyes glazed over as he stared at the fish roasting over their campfire.

"It's worth the wait, trust me." Zoey assured him.

"Yes, I'm sure that Zoey's cooking will be superb, amigo." Alejandro said, making the redhead blush.

Dawn opened her eyes suddenly. "I sense danger."

"It was just a nightmare. Go back to sleep and all will be fine." Noah said.

Dawn seemed not to catch the mocking tone in his voice. "I wasn't sleeping. I was meditating."

"Well, it's nice of you to join us." Noah said sarcastically.

She stood up. "There is danger nearby, I can sense it."

"You're probably just sitting too close to the fire." Noah said, rolling his eyes.

A loud growl interrupted them, and Owen giggled. "Wow, I'm hungrier than I thought."

"I don't think that was you." Trent said, staring with wide eyes to the edge of the group.

The entire team was on their feet in seconds, staring in horror as the bear stepped closer to them, its nose twitching as it smelled the air.

"GREAT PYRAMID OF GIZA!" Owen exclaimed, taking off running around the group in panic. "WE'RE GOING TO GET EATEN ALIVE BY A BEAR! OH THE HORROR! I WANT MY MOMMY!"

On his third lap around his teammates, Jo became annoyed and when he passed her on the fourth, she tripped him. Owen went flying and did a faceplant, ending up with a mouthful of dirt.

"Quick! Into the trees!" Zoey cried out.

The aptly named  _Screaming_  Gophers didn't need to be told twice.

* * *

"And one by one, they paid the price." Gwen told her teammates. "I heard that they never caught the murderer, and that after that night, people would venture out into the woods and  _never_  be heard from again." She sat back down, picking up her sketchbook and tilting it towards the campfire for light.

"You call  _that_  a scary story?" Duncan snorted, rolling his eyes. "

The goth looked up from her sketchbook momentarily and shrugged. "There was a rumour that they found some severed fingers near here a few weeks back – belonged to some guy from the city who went missing last winter. I mean, couldn't be the same killer, right?"

Most of the Killer Bass members had gone pale from fright – almost pale enough to rival Gwen's own pasty complexion.

* * *

"I – I think we lost it." Courtney panted, her hands on her thighs as she tried to catch her breath. "Is everyone accounted for?"

Mike did a quick head-count and then nodded. "Yeah."

"That was, like, the scariest thing that has ever happened to me." Sadie said. "We almost died."

"What are we going to do?" Bridgette asked. "Now we have nowhere to sleep."

"We'll have to sleep outside." Courtney said with an irritated sigh, giving Bridgette a look that made it clear that she still blamed the blonde for burning down their team's tent.

Mike shrugged and offered some optimism. "Well, at least the weather's nice."

And that's when it started pouring rain.

"Wonderful." Courtney said sarcastically, turning her face upwards to look at the sky, which flashed, divided, as lightning forked across it. Then she turned to speak to the team again. "If only we had a tent – we could be out of the rain!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to burn down our team's tent!" Bridgette said. "If it's any consolation, I hit my ankle and burned my shoe when I tripped."

"How do we even know that you really did 'trip'?" Courtney demanded, her voice rising. "How do we know you didn't just sabotage us?"

Mike rolled his eyes. "Oh come on! You're being paranoid! Nobody on our team is trying to sabotage us!"

"Why are you defending her? Can't she defend herself?" Courtney sneered.

"Because she's my friend!" Mike argued. "And Bridgette wouldn't do something like that!"

"Or maybe because you're the one who sabotaged our team! Maybe you're protecting her because you actually feel guilty for her taking the fall for it, and this is how you're trying to make amends!" Courtney's voice had escalated to yelling now. "Maybe  _you're_  the reason we keep losing challenges!"

* * *

**Confessional**

_Scott was whittling something, looking somewhat amused. "Wow, if I'd known that Courtney would be this easy to turn against the entire team with a little paranoia, I'd have saved planting the seeds of suspicion until later. What a drama queen."_

* * *

"I thought I heard raised voices." Came another male voice, attracting the attention of the Thrashing Bears team, who stared in shock.

"BRICK?!"

"You soldiers look like you need a roof over your heads. Care to join me? My place is plenty big enough for the whole team." Brick told them, beckoning them closer.

* * *

"What are you guys doing up there?" Dakota asked as she and Cody looked up into the tree at their teammates.

Cody looked bewildered. "It's raining, why aren't you guys in the tent?"

"Staying out of reach." Jo said.

"Of who?" Cody asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Or what." Zoey corrected him, pointing to a large mass inside the tent, which was illuminated by the campfire. "That."

"We think he smelled the fish Owen caught, and that attracted him to our campsite." Trent said.

"Well EXCUSE ME for living!" Owen cried out, smashing his head against the trunk of the tree.

"I didn't say it was your fault." Trent said. "Just that the fish smelled so good that the bear came to investigate."

"A bear?" Cody asked, his eyes wide. "Right, move over. We're coming up."

"But he's so cute!" Dakota exclaimed, peering into the tent. Her voice caused the brown mass to shift. Her teammates fell deathly silent. "I want one!"

"You probably won't when he wakes up." Trent said.

Trent's words were followed by a snarl from the ground. Dakota turned around to see a second bear having found their campsite. This one, angry and very awake, did not classify as 'cute' in Dakota's opinion. And her scream of terror did not help – a second awake and angry bear stuck its head out of the tent and roared.

"Chika, quickly! Climb up!" Alejandro prompted her.

"Dakota, grab my hand!" Cody urged the blonde, reaching out his hand from one of the lower branches.

She gasped as Cody pulled her to safety, and climbed up onto the bough beside Alejandro while Cody ended up beside Dawn – since nobody else seemed to want to sit beside her.

* * *

The sleepy brunette was just starting to nod off when she sneezed. Sitting cross-legged at the entrance of Brick's makeshift shelter, her elbows were resting on her knees her head in her hands. She stared out into the pouring rain, very tired but unable to sleep.

"Gesundheit." Came a soft male voice.

"Huh?" Courtney murmurer sleepily, raising her head and looking around to find Brick sitting down beside her.

"You sneezed. I said Gesundheit." Brick said softly, looking out into the rain.

"Oh." she said, covering her mouth as she yawned. "Thanks."

"Why don't you get some rest?" he asked her.

"I slept some but now I can't get back to sleep." she explained.

"Oh." he said, frowning as he stared out at the pouring rain. After a moment, he pointed to a spot on the horizon that was dotted with orange. "Look, the sun's rising."

"I love the sunrise." she said.

"Yeah, it's really pretty somedays." Brick agreed.

The two fell silent as they watched as the orange glow on the edge of the horizon grew, despite the rain. After a long pause, it was Courtney who finally broke the silence. "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"For banishing you from the team."

"You don't need to apologize."

"Yes I do." Courtney said. "If I hadn't banished you-"

Brick cut her off. "I forgive you."

"Thank you." Courtney said, yawning again.

"Get some sleep. You look like you need it – no offence."

"None taken." Courtney said as she laid down.

* * *

The Killer Bass had obviously had a bit of a rough night. DJ and Beth were both sitting with bunny, looking as though neither had slept all night. Heather was twitching in her sleep, and the entire team, save Duncan and Gwen, screamed in terror when Lindsay woke up, screaming blue murder.

"What's the matter with you?" Gwen asked, glaring at Lindsay, who blinked as she realized where she was.

"I – I had a nightmare." Lindsay said, trembling.

"Look! The sun's up!" Ezekiel announced, pointing to the sun, which was high in the sky. "We can go back to camp now, eh!"

"Yes!" Heather cheered, standing up quickly.

"What's the matter, Heather?" Gwen asked. "You're not  _scared_ , are you?"

"No, why would I be?" Heather said.

"Oh, I don't know." Gwen said with a shrug, before pulling Duncan's prop hook out from behind her back, evoking a scream from not only Heather, but several other Killer Bass members as well.

"You are so going down." Heather sneered.

* * *

"Brick, I don't know what we would have done without you." Bridgette said as the Thrashing Bears made their way back to camp. "You saved our entire team."

"Just from spending a night out in the rain."

"Still, we're lucky to have you on our team." Bridgette said, saluting the cadet.

Brick laughed. "Wrong side."

"Oh, oops." Bridgette said, saluting with her other hand instead.

* * *

"I think it's safe, guys." Trent said, stretching. "The bear's gone."

"And . . . so is the map." Zoey said, holding up the remains of the map, which had been soaked the night before during the storm.

"I don't know how Raccoons sleep in trees." Owen said, stretching. "They must be really limber."

"Come on, we need to get moving!" Jo said. "We have to get back to camp, pronto!"

"Follow me, comrades!" Alejandro said, motioning with his arm for his team to follow him.

* * *

"Welcome back Killer Bass!" Chris said, smirking. "Sleep well?"

"Like a baby." Gwen said with a half-smile. Heather tried to glare at her, but ended up yawning instead.

"We lost again!" Courtney shrieked as the Thrashing Bears arrived in camp.

"Not so fast." Chris said, shifting his attention to something behind the Bears. "Here come the Gophers now."

"We . . . we're not last?" Courtney repeated.

"Correctamundo!" Chris said.

"YES!" Courtney screamed as the Gophers finally joined the group.

"Gophers, I'll be seeing you losers tonight! One of your furry butts is going home!" Chris said. "Killer Bass, you're going on an all-expenses paid trip to the Tuck Shop!"

The Killer Bass cheered and ran to claim their prize, while the other two teams groaned at their losses, although the Bears were significantly less disappointed than the Gophers were.

* * *

"You've all cast your votes. The camper who does not receive a marshmallow must immediately walk the dock of shame, take the boat of losers and get the heck out of here. And you can't come back.  _Ever_." Chris said. "I can see you're all tired so tonight I'll just throw them to you. Savvy?"

"Comrades, I wish you all the best of luck." Alejandro said to his teammates. "I am sorry that another one of us must leave the game tonight."

"Zoey, Trent, Ann Maria. Dakota. Cody, Justin. Noah, Dawn. Jo." Chris said, tossing a marshmallow into the hands of each named camper.

"This is the final marshmallow of the evening." Chris said, holding up the fluffy white treat.

Owen looked at Alejandro. "I'm sorry, Al! I didn't want to vote for you, but I did! I'm so sorry!"

Alejandro twitched when Owen called him 'Al', but nodded in what seemed like a sincere way. "I am sorry that it must end this way."

"How touching." Chris said, pretending to wipe away a tear, before chuckling to himself. "Alejandro."

"What?" Owen asked in confusion as Alejandro caught the last marshmallow.

His teammates, save for Jo and Alejandro, began a chorus of both farewells and apologies. Jo just glared at Alejandro, who had an innocent look on his face as he waved goodbye to Owen.

* * *

**Voting Confessionals**

" _Alejandro told me we needed to vote for Owen, so that's how I'm voting tonight." Ann Maria said. "Man, that Alejandro is one sexy hunk of man-candy."_

Static.

" _I didn't wanna vote for the big guy, he's so cool, but Alejandro assured me that it was the right thing to do." Zoey said. "I vote for Owen."_

Static.

" _I don't trust Alejandro." Noah said. "I mean, I don't trust Jo either, but I trust Alejandro guy could charm the slime off an eel."_

Static.

" _I'm sorry, Owen." Dawn said. "Your story glorified violence and the slaying of innocent wildlife, which is why I'm voting for you tonight."_

Static.

" _Owen's a great guy. I don't really understand why Alejandro asked me to vote him off. He's a great teammate." Trent said with a shrug. "Jo suggested I vote for Alejandro instead, but I don't know – he seems really nice too. I guess I vote for Alejandro."_

Static.

" _Owen." Dakota said. "Sorry big guy!"_

Static.

" _I vote for Alejandro." Cody said._

Static.

" _Sorry Owen, nothing personal." Justin said._

Static.

" _Everyone on my team is so great, I don't want to send anyone home!" Owen lamented. "But Jo said that we should vote for Al because he can't be trusted. I guess I vote for Al!"_

Static.

" _So I convinced Trent, Noah, Owen and Dawn to vote with me." Jo said. "Buh-bye Alejandro."_

Static.

" _Of course Jo thinks she has won this round, but she hasn't, I can assure you of that." Alejandro said with a smirk. "She told Dawn who to vote for. Dawn is the swingvote – I asked her who she was voting for and had my alliance vote with her. As long as I have Dawn on my side, Jo can say good-bye to her little alliance. I'll pick them off one-by-one."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
> **Eliminated so far:**
> 
> 37th: Katie
> 
> 36th: Staci
> 
> 35th: Sierra
> 
> 34th: Sam
> 
> 33rd: Eva
> 
> 32nd: Owen
> 
> * * *
> 
> **Still in the Game:**
> 
> **Screaming Gophers:**  Dawn, Alejandro, Ann Maria, Noah, Dakota, Justin, Cody, Trent, Zoey, Jo
> 
> **Killer Bass:** Duncan, LeShawna, Geoff, Gwen, Heather, Lindsay, Harold, Beth, Tyler, DJ, Ezekiel
> 
> **Thrashing Bears:** Sadie, Cameron, Brick, Courtney, Scott, Beverly, Lightning, Izzy, Bridgette, Mike


	8. Sphinx's Scavengers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a traditional team challenge - a scavenger hunt!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry - I'm absolutely horrible at remembering to post chapters on both FFN and AO3 - usually I only remember FFN. 
> 
> Teams:  
> Screaming Gophers: Dawn, Alejandro, Dakota, Anne Maria, Noah, Cody, Trent, Zoey, Jo, Justin  
> Killer Bass: Duncan, LeShawna, Geoff, Gwen, Heather, Lindsay, Harold, Beth, Tyler, Ezekiel, DJ  
> Thrashing Bears: Sadie, Cameron, Courtney, Scott, Brick, Lightning, Izzy, Bridgette, Mike

"Last time on Total Drama Island, our campers experienced the great outdoors!" Chris announced. "The Gophers were pretty divided – Dakota and Cody got separated from the rest of the team and almost spent the entire night in the woods _alone_ _together_. Meanwhile, Alejandro and Jo competed for the loyalty of the other Screaming Gophers. Gwen and Duncan scared the crap out of their teammates by telling some pretty gruesome horror stories – it was hilarious! Courtney banished Brick from the team, Bridgette burned down her team's tent and Scott got them all chased by bears. Then the bears – the animals, not the team – found the Screaming Gophers and they were forced to spend the night in a tree. So basically, nobody got much sleep last night. Who will get sent home tonight in the most dramatic campfire ceremony, _ever_?"

_**Cue theme song.** _

Trent was sitting on the front steps of the cabin playing a song he'd written for Gwen, who was blushing as he sang to her. Zoey sat with them, looking as though she was feeling pretty bittersweet about the whole thing.

"Trent, that song is so adorable." Zoey told him sadly.

Trent raised an eyebrow at her tone and Gwen nudged him, pointing at Mike. Zoey had been staring at the spiky-haired brunette throughout Trent's song. When he caught the redhead looking at him, he smiled and waved at her. She waved back before staring at the table as though the knots in the wood were the most interesting things she'd ever seen, her face flushing red.

Then the loudspeaker crackled to life and Chris's voice began to speak. "Attention campers, it's time for the next challenge. Come to the Mess Hall to find out what you have to do."

"Aww man, good luck in today's challenge." Trent said to Gwen.

"Yeah, you too. . ." Gwen answered. "Hey, I gotta get something from the cabin, you and Zoey run ahead – I'll catch up later, okay?"

"Okay." Trent and Zoey said in unison, nodding before they went to join their teams.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Okay, so Zoey totally did me a favour when she hooked me up with Trent." Gwen said. "I'm kind of getting tired of watching her stare at that guy Mike. So I figure it's about time that I repaid the favour."_

* * *

"Hey – Bridgette? Can I ask you a question?"

"Hey Gwen. Sure thing. What's on your mind?"

"Are you going out with Mike?"

Bridgette's eyes grew wide with surprise. "No. We're just friends."

"Do you know if he is seeing anyone?"

"Not as far as I know. He's never mentioned a girlfriend before, so I'd say probably not."

"Awesome." Gwen said with a smile.

"Why do you ask?"

"Oh, I know someone who _really_ likes him."

"Really? And who might that be?"

"Oh. . . uh, I'm not sure she'd want me to say who. . ."

"I see."

"So, that's really great. I'd – uh – better catch up with my team. Talk to you later!" Gwen said, jogging off to meet up with her teammates.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Step one, check." Gwen said, satisfied for a moment. Then she seemed to become hesitant. "Okay, so I totally hate meddling in other people's love lives, but I owe Zoey a hand with this." Gwen looked almost concerned for a moment, before she spoke again. "Zoey and Mike are going to be going out by the end of the week!"_

* * *

"What do you think today's challenge will be?" Bridgette asked as she sat down at her team's table beside Scott.

"No idea, but I think we're about to find out." the flame-haired boy responded drily.

"Oh. Right." Bridgette said, blushing.

"Good morning campers!" Chris greeted the teens as he walked through the doors and into the Mess Hall with Chef only a pace behind him. "Are you ready for today's challenge?"

"Do you even care either way?" Noah asked, raising an eyebrow at the host.

"Nope!" Chris answered with a wide smile. "This is gonna be a fun one."

"What? You bring the sharks back?" Scott asked with a frown.

"Close!" Chris said.

"You're bringing back the bears, aren't you?" Bridgette asked, her green eyes stretched wide with fear.

"With any luck – yes!" Chris answered with a broad smile "Today's challenge uses the entire island: the woods, the cliffs, the cabins – everything! This one's a camp favourite: a scavenger hunt!"

"Oh yippee." Noah said sarcastically.

"And what exactly will we be hunting?" Scott asked, raising an eyebrow at Chris.

"I'm glad you asked!" Chris said.

"You do realize this _isn't_ an infomercial, right?" Gwen asked, raising her eyebrow at the host.

Chris frowned. "Alright, if everyone could just stop talking for a minute and let someone more important talk-"

"You got someone more important for the challenge?" Noah asked. "Where are they?"

"I was talking about me!" Chris said, glaring at the teens. "Okay, the next person who interrupts me is going to be automatically eliminated from the competition. Yeesh."

The teens went deathly silent.

"That's better." Chris said with a satisfied nod. "I have a riddle for each team. These riddles will lead you to a block in your team's colour, with a piece of your team's logo on it. Each block you find will have another riddle. There are four blocks hidden on the island, and you need to find all four to complete the challenge. Together, the blocks make your team's logo. The first team to put their mascot together wins immunity!"

Chris handed Mike, Noah and Leshawna each a piece of paper.

The three campers took the riddles to their respective teams before two of the three teams left the mess hall to start the search.

* * *

" _I'm square, plastic and dusty. I keep sharp things in my mouth, so you might want to watch_ _your hands. And just what is that fishy smell?_ " Noah read from the piece of paper in his hands. The Bass had been the only team to remain in the mess hall after the clues had been given out to the teams.

Alejandro turned up his nose at the mention of a fishy smell. "Comrades, to where do you think our clue refers?

"This has to be a trap." Noah stated. "I mean, come on, this is too easy."

"What's the answer then, Brainiac?" Jo asked, raising her eyebrows at the bookworm.

"Our block is hidden inside a fishing box." Noah said in irritation, rolling his eyes.

"Where are we going to find a fishing box?" Dakota asked aloud.

"The docks?" Zoey suggested with a shrug.

"Or the boat house." Noah suggested.

* * *

" _I'm over but under, wet but dry, one of you may step on me tonight if you don't find me today. Wouldn't that be a shame?_ " Leshawna read aloud to her team as the Gophers sat on the steps of their cabin.

"I wonder where it's hidden." Beth said, looking at Lindsay whose blue eyes seemed especially vacant that morning. "What do you think?"

The blonde blinked, before furrowing her brow, searching her brain for the answer, but coming up with nothing. She shrugged.

"I wonder if it's an anagram." Harold suggested.

"Oh my gosh, I love candy grams! They're just so sweet!" Lindsay said, clasping her hands together by her cheek. Then she turned to Beth. "Don't you just love candy grams?"

"Not a candy gram, an _ana_ gram. It means the letters are all swapped around and stuff." Harold said, rolling his eyes. "Gosh."

"Hey, guys, what about the docks?" DJ suggested. "It could mean the Dock of Shame or something."

"Nice going, man!" Geoff said, giving the gentle giant a high-five. "Let's get it, man!"

* * *

" _You took a dive in challenge one, your next clue is hidden there. I'm not on the boat, and I_ _won't stay afloat, and please wring out your hair."_ Mike said, a bewildered expression on his face as he read the Bear's clue aloud. His team had decided to make the campfire their team meeting place.

"Obviously it has something to do with the first challenge." Courtney said, tapping her chin with the end of her pencil.

"Really?" Scott asked facetiously. "What was your first clue?"

Courtney frowned, but did not rise to the bait. "Taking a dive in challenge one – we probably have to go to the top of the cliff, where we all had to jump from."

"What is everyone waiting for? Let's sha-go!" Lightning said, jumping to his feet and taking off in the direction of the thousand foot cliff, pursued by his teammates.

* * *

Alejandro opened the door to the boat house and went to take a step inside, when he caught a whiff of half-rotted fish guts, and halted in place. Then, ever so smoothly, he turned to the side and gestured that Jo should walk ahead of him. "Ladies first."

Jo rolled her eyes and pushed past Alejandro into the cabin. She made a face but managed not to start retching when the foul odour infiltrated her nostrils.

"You're such a gentleman, Al." Zoey said, looking enamoured by the handsome young man's good manner, and failing to notice him twitch as she walked past him into the cabin.

"We're looking for a plastic fishing box." Noah said, stepping past Alejandro and into the boathouse. He put a hand over his nose in an attempt to ward off the stench. "Ugh, it smells like Owen's been in here."

"Yeah, we heard you the first time." Jo said.

Alejandro took a deep breath of fresh air and turned to follow Justin, the last of his teammates to enter the cabin, when Justin halted and made a sound like he was choking. Alejandro almost bumped into his teammate as the male model cried out about an assault on his nose, then sprinted out of the cabin.

"I'd, uh, best go check that Justin is alright." Alejandro volunteered, slipping out of the boathouse. Letting the door close behind him, he walked over to his teammate. "Amigo, are you alright?"

"Ah, fresh air!" Justin said, fanning himself with his hand as he drew in a deep breath. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Excellent." Alejandro said with a nod. "It would have been such a shame if one of our most valuable players had been unable to continue with the competition."

"Oh, I know!" Justin said with a nod.

"It's such a blessing that we have you on our team, it would have been most unfortunate if we were on opposing teams." Alejandro continued. "I'm not sure I would have stood much of a chance against you."

"Well, it's a good thing we're on the same team then, isn't it?" Justin said.

"Indeed. At least the girls on our team are safe from your good looks."

Justin frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well, if I were as handsome and God-like as you, I would use my looks to distract the girls on the other teams, so that our team would have the advantage."

Justin smiled. "Oh, _that._ "

"I mean, I'm sure the girls on our team could be swayed to vote for whoever you wanted to vote off." Alejandro said. "I mean, aside from Jo."

"Why not Jo?" Justin asked.

"Haven't you heard? She thinks you're the 'second most unattractive guy she's ever met'." Alejandro said.

Justin gasped in horror.

"But I assure you, you have the envy of every man at this camp, for aside from Jo, every woman here swoons over you."

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Vanity and pride play off one another so nicely. Farewell, Jo." Alejandro said, blowing the confessional camera a kiss._

* * *

"Got it!" Zoey shouted, grabbing the green block and the attached scrap of paper and rushing outside, followed by her team. Once outside where the air was fresher, she read the next clue aloud. " _Go back to the location of challenge six, but be careful not to step on too many sticks. I'm sure your next clue is just hanging around._ "

"That was the talent show, wasn't it?" Dakota said.

"Challenge six. . ." Cody said, counting off the challenges on his fingers. "No, challenge six was the last challenge – the night in the woods."

"Oh right. That's what I meant!" Dakota said, blushing.

"Then let's go!" Jo said, leading the team towards the forest.

* * *

"Wooo!" Tyler cried out as he jumped off the dock into the lake, before crying out when he tripped off the end of the dock and did a belly-flop.

"Wicked wipe-out, man!" Geoff cheered from the dock, before jumping in to join his buddy in the water, splashing an unhappy Gwen in the process.

"It's gotta be under the dock somewhere." Harold reasoned.

"I'll get it!" Tyler volunteered, making to dive under the dock, but not ducking low enough and instead smacking his forehead off the edge of the dock.

"Got'cha!" Geoff announced, withdrawing his hand from under the dock. "Man, that was so close! It almost fell into the water!"

"Good job! Where's that riddle?" Leshawna asked, holding out her hand for the block. Geoff, mistaking her outstretched hand as her offering a hand up, reached for her, but she only took the block and riddle, and he fell backwards off the dock and back into the water, on top of Tyler.

"What does it say?" Harold asked.

" _You'll find it if you can stand the smell, just remember this isn't a wishing well. And be careful not to flush your chances_." she said aloud.

"Haha, I bet our next block is in the toilet!" Tyler joked.

"Ew." Heather said, turning up her nose.

"Aw, man, that's gotta be it!" Geoff said, giving Tyler a high-five.

"Wow, it's a really good thing this team has so many guys on it, eh?" Ezekiel said, giving his teammates a thumbs-up.

"Why's that?" Beth asked with a smile.

"Because girls are much weaker players than guys, eh." Ezekiel said, causing his teammates to gasp in shock. "My dad told me to look out for all the girls here 'cause they can't take care of themselves."

"What did you just say, homeschool?" Leshawna demanded, her hands on her hips.

Ezekiel smiled at her and spoke more slowly. "I said guys are stronger and more physically fit than girls are, and that us guys need to look after the girls on our team, make sure they're okay."

"I'll show you looking after myself, you scrawny lil' white boy!" Leshawna said, balling her hands into fists and stalking up to Ezekiel.

"You _do_ realize this is the twenty-first century, right?" Gwen asked, an unamused glare on her pale face.

"Chill bras!" Geoff said, stepping between Ezekiel and a raging Leshawna. "At least he doesn't think guys are smarter than girls."

"But they are, eh." Ezekiel said. His next words were sympathetic. "It's not their faults they don't know, eh. Wouldn't expect 'em to know, 'cause they're not as smart as guys are."

"Oh, that's _it_!" Leshawna shoved Geoff out of the way and punched Ezekiel straight in the face, knocking him to the ground. Then, slapping her hands together as though brushing off dirt, she turned her back to him, grabbed the block and the clue and stalked off, followed by most of the team.

Harold stayed behind with Tyler, although the latter only remained because as he turned to walk away with the team, he'd walked straight into a wall and fallen backwards.

"You shouldn't have said that." Harold said to Ezekiel as he offered him a hand up.

"Why not, eh? It's true, isn't it?" Ezekiel asked, putting a hand to his eye, which was quickly bruising.

"Not really. Recent statistics have proven that males and females have equal intellectual potential." Harold said.

"And girls don't like being called dumb!" Tyler said, having picked himself off the ground and joined Harold and Ezekiel.

"I agree." Harold said with a nod. "And they definitely don't like being called stupid or weak. They're pretty ticked off right now."

Ezekiel frowned. "I don't wanna get voted off if we lose today, eh. Is there anything I can do to fix it?"

"You could try apologizing to them." Harold suggested with a shrug.

"But what if I say the wrong thing and make 'em even more mad at me?" Suddenly Ezekiel smiled. "Can you guys teach me?"

Harold frowned for a moment, then nodded. "I am kind of a Casanova. With my help, the girls will probably forget you even insulted them."

* * *

Searching the plateau at the top of the thousand foot cliff, Sadie frowned. They hadn't found their block yet, and Courtney was starting to panic that they were going to lose yet another challenge. And when Courtney started to panic, she cracked the whip on everyone else.

"B, can I ask you your opinion on something?" Sadie asked, looking up at her male best friend.

B nodded his head in response.

"Without Eva, our alliance isn't as strong. I think we need to add a third person."

B nodded and gave Sadie a thumbs-up.

"But who should we invite?" Sadie asked.

B tapped his lips with his index finger as though contemplating the answer, the shrugged.

Sadie put her hands on her hips and turned to survey her teammates. Then she brightened. "Oh, I know!" she said to B. "How about Cam?"

B didn't take very long to consider this idea before he nodded.

"Great! Let's ask him later tonight!"

B nodded.

"This is hopeless!" Courtney cried out, throwing her hands up in the air. Her teammates gathered around her. "We must have answered the riddle incorrectly, because clearly it's not up here."

"What does the clue say again?" Bridgette asked.

Mike read it aloud to the team once more. " _You took a dive in challenge one, your next clue is hidden there. I'm not on the boat, and I won't stay afloat, and please wring out your hair."_

Bridgette smacked herself in the forehead as she came to a realization. "We're in the right place, only a few thousand feet too high. Guys, the block is in the water."

"Oh." Chorused the entire Thrashing Bears team as the answer suddenly became clear to them.

Bridgette sighed and walked a few steps towards the edge of the cliff before turning back to her team. "So, who wants to go first?"

"Lightning always strikes first!" Lightning announced, sprinting to the edge of the cliff and diving into the water.

Izzy, who was next, crouched down and took a run at the edge of the cliff on all fours. The rest of the team followed, except for Courtney, who waited until the rest of her team had jumped before backing away from the edge and making her way down the trail to the bottom of the cliff.

Halfway down the trail, Courtney tripped and fell. Frowning, she got up and dusted herself off and turned to see what she'd tripped over. She saw something large, brown and furry. A paw. Eyes wide, she looked up to see the entire creature and found herself face-to-face with a massive Grizzly bear. She screamed and took off in the opposite direction of the bear – and of her team – and ran into the woods.

* * *

The Gophers had split up so they could fan out and cover more ground. The woods here were _huge_ and their block was hidden somewhere in them. She was starting to think they were never going to find it. But she had to be positive. They'd find it! Wouldn't they?

"Oh man!" Zoey said, halting, her brown eyes wide. There was a low bush in front of her, and she couldn't see any ground behind it. It was like the earth just ended on the other side of the bush. "I would _not_ want to fall down there."

And of course, it was then that Courtney came sprinting out of the woods, chased by an angry Grizzly bear, and collided with Zoey, accidentally sending them both over the ledge.

"Ooof!" The girls grunted as their bodies hit the ground. Fortunately, instead of plummeting to their deaths, the two had landed on another ledge. It was far enough that they were safe from the bear, which also meant that climbing back up the cliff would be a challenge.

"Are you okay?" Zoey asked as she sat up and dusted herself off.

"Uh-huh." Courtney nodded, looking up the edge of the cliff. "At least we're safe from the bear down here."

* * *

Scott was the one that found the next clue. It was his third dive, and he spotted the little flash of purple out of the corner of his eye. He swam to the bottom of the lake to get it, but instead of grabbing it so that his team could move on to the next part of the challenge, he tried to push it deeper into the small space between the sand and the rock under which it was wedged.

Finally, he had to take a breath and swam to the surface for a momentary breather.

Just as he was about to dive back down to finish the job, Bridgette broke the surface, holding the plastic bag with the purple block in it over her head. "I got it!"

"What?" Scott asked in alarm, turning to the surfer girl.

"I saw you found the block and were trying to get it free. It must have been _really_ stuck, but you loosened it enough that I managed to get it out!" Bridgette explained.

"Oh really?" Scott asked, but Bridgette missed the agitation in Scott's voice. "Wow, first you figure out the riddle, then you manage to get the block loose - you must be like our team's good luck charm."

"You think I'm good luck?" Bridgette asked, her cheeks flushing pink.

"Definitely." Scott said in a mildly sarcastic tone that Bridgette once again missed.

* * *

**Confessional**

_Bridgette sat in the confessional with her cheeks still bright red. "Oh my gosh. Scott said that I was our team's good luck charm. Scott thinks_ I'm _good luck."_

* * *

"You must be the strongest player on our team, maybe even in the entire game." Scott said to Bridgette with a fake smile as the Thrashing Bears team stepped onto the sandy shores of Camp Wawanakwa.

"You're just saying that!" Bridgette insisted, blushing anyway as she wrung out her ponytail.

"No, I mean it. It's a really good thing you're on our team. It'd be really tough to compete against you."

"Aww, you mean it?" Bridgette's face was starting to resemble a tomato.

"Of course." Scott said. "If you had an alliance, you could probably even make it to the finals. But if you're not – well, Courtney doesn't seem to like having competition."

"You think so?" Bridgette asked, seeming to be slightly alarmed by the implications of Scott's words. Then she glanced around at her teammates. "Hey – where is Courtney?"

"How should I know?" Scott shrugged as though he didn't really care. "And of course I mean it – you're probably the fiercest competitor here!"

"But what about you?"

"Oh come on, I couldn't get that block out and you could-"

"It was a team effort." Bridgette insisted. "Hey, we should team up and make an alliance – like you said!"

"Wow, that's such a good idea!" Scott said with false enthusiasm. "Why didn't I think of that?"

"Well, technically, you _did_." Bridgette said, batting her eyelashes at Scott.

"Well, I can't take all the credit for your great idea."

"It is a really great idea, isn't it?" Bridgette said enthusiastically. "And I bet Mike would team up with us! And maybe even Cam too!"

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Bridgette does realize that the entire team can't be in the alliance, right?" Scott asked the confessional camera. "Because we actually need to be able to vote people off when we lose challenges." He shrugged. "As soon as my little good luck charm ceases to be '_ lucky' _, she's gone."_

* * *

"Ugh." Heather said in a tone of disgust. "Beth! Come here!"

The farmgirl appeared at the queen bee's side almost immediately. "Yes, Heather?" She asked eagerly.

"Reach into the toilet." Heather commanded her.

"Okay." Beth nodded, stepped forward, then grimaced. "Ew, are you sure?"

"Completely."

"Okay then." Beth got on her knees and stuck her arm into the opaque green-brown water in the toilet bowl. Heather gagged and had to turn away so that she wouldn't throw up. After a few moments of feeling around in the water, Beth cried out. "I got it!"

Her teammates appeared to find Beth holding up a ziploc bag with a cube in it, her arms covered in brown-green sludge up to the elbows. Her teammates cheered, but nobody would touch the bag that Beth held. In the end, Beth had to hold the bag open so that Geoff could reach in and pull out the clue, uncontaminated.

* * *

Of course their first clue had been easy – their second clue was impossible! Sure, it was easy enough to say that it was somewhere in the forest, likely hanging in a tree, but there were literally hundred, possibly even thousands of trees on that one tiny island, so the chances that they'd actually find the next clue were slim to none.

Aside from excess physical activity – which was most certainly _not_ Noah's preferred way to spend his time - his day had been fairly decent thus far. He hadn't been injured or anything. And his team actually seemed to appreciate his existence – for once.

Of course, all good days must come to an end, and so Noah's did when he tripped over a log as he walked into a clearing. He wasn't injured, and all would have been well, had his entrance into the clearing not startled a family of skunks.

Still laying on his stomach from when he'd tripped, Noah covered his face as all five skunks turned their backs to him and prepared to spray him with their noxious fumes.

"My children, this is no way to behave!" came the gentle, scolding tone of a familiar female contestant.

Noah risked a peek and saw – to his disbelief – Dawn, who he was certain had not been there a moment before, now crouched in the middle of the clearing with all five skunks winding around her lovingly. All five skunks were acting just like domesticated cats. As she lowered herself to a sitting position on the forest floor, she picked up one of the smaller skunks and gave it a cuddle.

"See? Noah's not going to hurt you." Dawn told the skunk, before looking to the Indian boy. "You can come and pet them now."

"I'd rather not, if it's all the same to you." Noah said as he got to his feet.

"Oh but you must." Dawn insisted. "They'll be ever so offended if you don't."

"But I'd rather not smell like a skunk-"

"You won't if they don't spray you. And they won't spray you so long as you don't offend them."

Noah rolled his eyes and walked over to the blond girl whose weirdness _continued_ to surprise him. Every time she did something strange, he thought she couldn't get any stranger. And yet, somehow, she always did. Squatting down beside the girl, he offered a hand to the nearest skunk, who brushed against his hand.

"There, I pet one. Can I go now?" Noah asked.

"Aww, ain't this sweet?" said another male voice as a third person entered the clearing. "Fairy Princess found _more_ weird pets. And with you, Bookworm, it's like a little family."

"Scott, you're upsetting them. Please stop using that tone." Dawn pleaded with the redheaded male.

He rolled his eyes. "Why should I? I've caught larger vermin than those rats before in my kitchen back home."

Dawn gasped in horror. "How could you say such a thing?! They're not vermin!"

"Oh dear, now you've done it." Noah deadpanned. "Now you're going to have to apologize."

"That's right! You come right here and apologize for upsetting my friends!" Dawn said in a tone that almost seemed authoritative.

"That was sarcasm, honey." Noah muttered to himself as he rolled his eyes at Dawn's absolutely absurd antics.

* * *

As the Killer Bass team moved away to search for their next clue, Lindsay finally arrived on the scene. When she saw Beth with brown-green sludge covering her forearms, she smiled. "Oh my gosh, you guys are doing facials?" She hurried over to Beth and scooped a handful of the sludge off of Beth's arms. "Silly, you don't put it on your arms, you put it on your _face_!" And then she proceeded to smear it on her face.

"Lindsay, that's not mud!" Beth told the blonde girl in alarm.

"Then what is it?" Lindsay asked, before sniffing the air. "Ew, what is that smell?"

* * *

If the skunks were on edge before, then a blood-curdling scream that could only have belonged to Lindsay was not going to help matters. And it certainly didn't. In fact, it made things much, _much_ worse. At the sound of the scream, the already-spooked skunks lifted their tails and sprayed noxious fumes on everyone in the small clearing, including their precious Dawn.

As Scott and Noah sprinted out of the clearing, coughing and choking on the stench of skunk-spray which was now clinging to their bodies, Dawn promised to visit the skunks again later, then took off after the two boys, calling out that her little friends hadn't meant to spray them.

* * *

"HELP! CAN ANYONE HEAR ME? HELP!" Courtney screamed at the top of her lungs, her hands cupped around her mouth as she looked up at the top of the ledge.

"I don't think anyone's nearby, Courtney." Zoey said with a sigh. She was sitting with her back against the steep wall of the cliff, and her knees drawn to her chest.

"We can't give up!" Courtney said with a frown, stepping back so that her voice might carry better to the top of the cliff. "HELP!"

"Be careful." Zoey cautioned her.

"I'm fine." Courtney said. "HELP!"

"Why don't you take a break and we can take turns yelling for help?"

"Okay." Courtney said, sighing and coming to sit beside Zoey against the wall of the cliff.

After a few moments, Zoey finally spoke. "So. . . how long do you think it'll be before someone finds us?"

"Not very long, I hope." Courtney said with a sigh.

* * *

"Find anything yet?" Cody called his teammate Dakota as he bent down to check inside a hollow log for their team's cube.

"Huh?" Dakota asked, hardly paying attention. "Oh, uh, no, I don't see anything."

Cody sighed as he straightened up. "I sure hope someone else on our team is having better luck than we are or we might never finish this challenge." Then something glinted through the trees. "Hey, what's that?"

"What's what?" Dakota asked.

"I saw something through those trees." Cody said, leading Dakota through a cluster of trees. When they came out on the other side, they found a clearing with Justin sitting in the middle of it, checking himself out in his handheld mirror. "Darn, I thought we finally had something." He approached the male model. "Hey Justin, how's the search going?"

"What search?" Justin asked.

"The search for our team's second cube." Cody answered, frowning.

"Oh, _that_. I haven't been looking. I have better things to do." Justin replied.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Like what?" Cody asked the confessional camera, clearly frustrated by Justin's lack of participation. "But, I guess it's not my problem."_

* * *

"Aren't you concerned about getting voted off?" Cody asked.

"No. Should I be?" Justin asked, raising an eyebrow at Cody.

"I don't know – maybe. If the rest of the team saw you-"

"Are you threatening me?" Justin asked, frowning.

"No, of course not!" Cody said in earnest.

"Dakota?" Justin called, flashing the blonde his million dollar smile. "If you had to vote either me or Cody off, who would you vote for?"

"Huh? Dakota asked, shaking her head as though to break a trance. "Uh, I guess I'd vote for Jo."

Justin and Cody only exchanged a puzzled look.

* * *

"Mike! Guess what!" Bridgette called as she caught up with her friend.

"What's up Bridgette?" Mike asked his friend.

"Scott called me his good luck charm!" Bridgette gushed, positively beaming.

"Uh. . . congratulations." Mike paused for a moment. "I didn't know you had a crush on Scott."

"He's really great. He's sweet and charming and totally cute too!" Bridgette said, blushing. Then, she tucked a lock of blonde hair behind her ear and then her eyes went wide. "Oh! I almost forgot! Gwen likes you."

Mike halted and turned to face Bridgette, one eyebrow raised skeptically. "Where did you hear that?"

"From her."

"Wow, that's really . . . unexpected." Mike said after a moment, and the two began walking again.

"You two would be totally cute together!" Bridgette gushed.

"I didn't think Gwen was 'my type'. She doesn't seem into me at all – she seems really into that Trent guy, not me."

"Isn't Trent dating that redheaded girl - Zoey?"

"Oh, right, _Zoey_." Mike said, saying the name 'Zoey' with a tone of absolute disappointment. Then he frowned. "No, I'm pretty sure Gwen likes Trent – remember the talent show? Heather read Gwen's diary and she was gushing about some guy who can play the guitar."

"Yeah, but she also said the guy she likes is dating Zoey – maybe she's moved on."

"To me?"

"To you."

* * *

**Confessional**

_Mike looked both puzzled and skeptical as he sat in the confessional. "Well, I've never really thought of Gwen that way before, but I guess she's kind of cute." Mike scratched the back of his head. "And Bridgette wouldn't lie to me. So. . . I guess I should get to know Gwen better?"_

* * *

Jo was walking through the woods, searching the treetops for the next clue, desperate to be the one to find the next clue. Or at least, she needed Alejandro not to find it. She really couldn't have her biggest rival getting one-up on her. She had to find the cube, or at least someone on her side of the alliance had to find it.

And then, she saw it. Just as she'd expected it to be, it was hanging from a tree.

"Gotcha." Jo said in unison with a familiar male voice.

Eyes narrowed, Jo looked in front of herself to find herself nearly face-to-face with her arch-rival himself, Alejandro. One more step and they would have collided.

"Senorita, what a pleasure it is running into you here." Alejandro's smooth, charming voice said, earning a glare from the blonde jock as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"I thought I smelled a sleazeball." Jo growled, then she made a face. "Ugh, you smell worse than usual."

Alejandro seemed about ready to make a retort about his usual smell being wonderful when the stench hit his nose too. His hand flew to his nose to shield it from the smell. "What is that smell?!"

"I told you they didn't spray you on purpose!" Dawn hissed at Noah as the two walked into the clearing. "They were afraid! And they said they're sorry! They'll be very distressed if you don't forgive them!"

"They're _animals_ , I really don't think they care if I accept their apologies or not." Noah rolled his eyes.

"But they do care, very much in fact-" Dawn was saying, but stopped mid-sentence when she saw Jo and Alejandro with disgusted looks on their faces, and halted.

"What happened to you two?" Jo asked, raising her hand to her nose to hold her nostrils closed against the awful smell. "You both stink."

"The animal whisperer here was playing with her pet skunks and well, I'm sure your sense of smell is strong enough for you to figure out what happened next." Noah deadpanned.

Alejandro made a sound like he was choking, before crying out in disgust. "I can _taste_ it!" Jo rolled her eyes as Alejandro staggered to the nearest tree, but did not stop holding her nose.

"Well, at least you're here, brainiac." Jo said, pointing up to the cube that was hanging from the tree above her head by a piece of twine. Alejandro backed away as Noah and Dawn approached the hanging cube.

"It's very high up." Dawn commented, before holding out a hand for a nearby bird. Bringing the bird closer to her face, she gently stoked its head. "Hello friend, would you mind-"

"No need for that." Jo told Dawn, picking Noah up by his shirt and tossing him into the air at the cube. She frowned at her teammate as he grabbed onto the cube. "You scream like a girl."

Noah clung to the cube. "So would you if someone randomly threw you at a tree!"

Looking at her hands disdainfully, Jo brought them to her nose. "Ugh, now my hands smell like skunk."

Noah grunted as he hit the ground in front of Jo. "You couldn't catch me too?"

"You already made my hands stink of skunk, I don't want to make it any worse."

"Of course." Noah muttered as he picked himself out of the dust, unfolding the riddle for their next cube. "At least this is an easy one. Follow me."

"What about the rest of the team?" Dawn reminded them.

"Oh, right, them." Jo rolled her eyes. "Why doesn't pretty boy go find them?" Then she frowned. "Actually, no, Alejandro can go with you two. I'll go find the rest of the team."

"Two heads are better than one, senorita, I will accompany you and we will find the rest of the team in half the time!" Alejandro insisted.

"Whatever." Noah said, rolling his eyes again. "Meet us at the beach."

And then he stamped off through the forest, followed by Dawn.

* * *

"Well that was an easy one." Sadie commented to Cameron as the team made their way away through the mess hall. Their second clue had been hidden in a bread box in Chef Hatchet's kitchen.

"Yeah, it was." Cameron said with a nod.

"Can I ask you something, Cam?"

"Sure! What's up?"

"Well, B and I were wondering if you would like to be part of our alliance." Sadie said in a half-whisper.

"Oh boy! Really?!" Cameron exclaimed, before he lowered his voice to a half-whisper as well. "I mean: oh boy! Really?"

"Yeah, definitely!" Sadie said with a nod.

"Sure! I'd love to be in an alliance with you and B!" Cam said with a nod. Then he glanced around and spoke once more at his normal volume. "Speaking of B, where is he?"

"That's a good question." Sadie said. "I should probably go find him. I'll catch up with you later, Cam!"

"Ok, bye!"

* * *

**Confessional**

_Cameron sat in the confessional looking so excited that he might wet himself. "My first alliance!"_

* * *

"Hey, did I hear you say you were looking for B?"

"Oh my gosh, what is that smell?!" Sadie exclaimed, covering her nose as she whirled to greet the newcomer.

"I got sprayed by a skunk." Scott answered, displeased.

"Ew, that really stinks."

Scott was not amused. "So, you said you were looking for B?"

"Oh, yeah. Have you seen him?"

"You know, as a matter of fact, I have. He went to check inside Chef's freezer for the clue, maybe he doesn't know we found it already?"

"Oh, maybe!" Sadie said, turning around and walking back into the mess hall.

* * *

**Confessional**

_Scott was whittling another spear out of a stick. "Hook, line and sinker."_

* * *

Sadie opened the door to Chef's massive freezer and stepped inside. B obviously wasn't there, and Sadie was just turning around to leave the freezer when the door slammed shut and she heard the lock click into place from the outside.

Scott, on the other side of the metal door, chuckled to himself. "Did I do that? Oops, my bad."

And then he walked out of the mess hall and rejoined the rest of the team, leaving Sadie screaming for help in the freezer where nobody could hear her.

* * *

"You'd think _someone_ would have found us by now." Courtney groaned. "Without my CIT training, my team is probably losing this challenge."

"My team probably hasn't even realized I'm missing." Zoey said with a sigh.

Courtney was silent for a few moments. "I'm sure that's not true. What about your boyfriend? Trent - is it? I bet he'll notice that you're missing."

"Boyfriend?! Trent?! Oh gosh no!" Zoey said. "No, we're just friends. Totally platonic."

"Oh."

"There is someone else though, he's so cute but I think he already has a girlfriend."

"Who?"

Zoey's cheeks were bright pink and her voice was hardly a whisper. "Mike."

"Mike? As in my teammate Mike?" Courtney asked, astounded.

Zoey nodded. "But I'm pretty sure we've only ever actually talked once, and that was on our first day here. Maybe if we'd ended up on the same team, things would have been different." she lamented. "You're so lucky."

Courtney was puzzled. "How so?"

"Well, you and Duncan -"

" _You_ think _I_ like that – that – _Neanderthal_?!" Courtney exclaimed, outraged.

Zoey flinched away from Courtney's temper. "I guess you guys just seem really into one another every time you two talk."

"Well, for the record, I cannot stand to even be in the same room as that – that – _delinquent freak_!"

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Kind of a shame though. I think he really likes you."

"I would not stoop to such a level as to fall for the likes of _him_."

"Really? I think you two would have been really cute together."

Courtney fell silent.

* * *

"I found it! I found the last block!" Cameron cheered, holding it up in the air victoriously. Mike, who was nearby, began to cheer alongside him, and gave him a high-five. Cameron cried out at the sting of the high-five.

" _Aren't we lucky_." Scott said as the rest of the team, minus Sadie and Courtney, gathered around Cameron.

"Way to go Cam!" Bridgette cheered.

"Now we just gotta put them together!" Cameron said, and the team began their mad dash to victory. They arrived at the finish line within a few moments, only to find that the Gophers were already there and had already begun to assemble their puzzle. And with Noah putting the blocks together, it was taking even less time than it otherwise might have, which was none at all.

* * *

Their last clue was hidden in the mess hall, Harold was sure of it. His team had brushed him off and gone to search elsewhere, but he was sure the answer to the riddle was the mess hall, so here he was.

The intermittent sound of thumping caught his attention, and drew him into the kitchen to investigate. "Oh, that's rank." He commented to himself, wrinkling his nose at the stench before calling out. "Hello? Is anyone there?"

Suddenly the thumping became more like a panicked knock, and almost immediately a muffled female voice called out. "HELP! HELP!"

Harold walked towards the sound of the banging, and pulled opened the door to Chef's freezer. Sadie, shivering with cold, stumbled out of it. Her arms crossed over her chest, she did a bit of jogging on the spot, presumably to warm herself up.

"Sadie? Why were you in the freezer?" Harold asked, looking bewildered.

"I was looking for B, and the door shut behind me." Sadie said. "It must have locked, because I couldn't get out. I must have been in there for more than an hour!"

"Why was B in the freezer?"

"He wasn't. I only thought he was."

"Why did you think he was?"

"Because Scott said he thought he saw him go into the fridge to look for our clue." Sadie told him. Then she gasped. "Is the challenge over? Did my team win?"

And before Harold could answer, Sadie, her lips still blue from cold, sprinted from the mess hall towards the finish line.

* * *

"We won!" Jo began to cheer, giving Noah a high-five so hard that afterwards, he turned away to inspect his hand, which was stinging from the force of the five.

"THIS IS A DISGRACE! LIGHTNING NEVER LOSES!" cried out the Thrashing Bears member in outrage.

"We got second though. At least we don't have to vote anyone out tonight." Bridgette reassured her team as Cameron slotted the last piece of the puzzle into place.

"Ah-ah-ah." Chris tutted, smirking. "Your entire team has to be present for you to win."

"Please don't tell me you mean _them_." Alejandro asked, jabbing a thumb at Noah, Dawn and Scott, whose teams had forbidden them from coming any closer than twenty feet from the rest of them.

"No, they're fine. Phew, do you think _I_ want to smell their stink? They can stay where they are." Chris retorted. "Gophers, Bears, better figure out who you're missing and find them before the Bass get here or one of you will be sending someone home tonight!"

* * *

**Confessional**

" _A darned shame, too." Scott said sarcastically as he continued to whittle away at his spear._

* * *

"Zoey!" Trent cried out suddenly, looking around for his cherry-topped friend. "Where's Zoey?"

"DAMNIT!" Jo exclaimed, and Alejandro began to speak in Spanish. Quickly, they divided the team into two – a search party and a cube guard.

"I'm here! I'm here!" Sadie cried out, panting as she fell to her knees at the finish line, gasping for breath. She needed to start jogging again. All of Eva's training was going to come undone otherwise.

"Yes! We win!" Bridgette exclaimed, causing the Gophers to halt.

"Not so fast, campers." Chris taunted.

The Bears turned to one another and finally it was Brick who exclaimed "Courtney!"

They took off after the Gophers.

* * *

"Did you hear that?" Zoey asked suddenly, turning to Courtney with wide eyes.

"Hear what?" Courtney asked.

"That! There it was again! I can hear voices! Listen!" Zoey said.

The two fell silent, and after a moment, there it was again. It could have been a bird's call but then again it could have been their teammates, having finally realized they were missing. Scrambling to their feet, the two girls began screaming for help at the top of their lungs.

They were fortunate, and soon the search party found them. B, Cameron, Mike, Bridgette and Scott had finally found them. They were saved!

"Don't you worry your pretty little heads, sheilas, I'll save you." Mike announced in what sounded like an Australian accent. Then, he turned tail and marched towards the woods.

"Mike, where are you going?" Bridgette called, following her friend.

He turned to face her. "Let a man handle this one, sheila." And tapped her on the nose with his index finger. Then he tore vines from the nearest tree and bound one end to the nearest tree before pitching himself over the side of the cliff. Unfortunately, Scott _accidentally_ stepped on the vine, pressing it against a triangular stone. The vine snapped and sent Mike plummeting to Courtney and Zoey's cliff. His new hat floated down after him and landed on his head a few seconds after he'd crashed onto their small plateau.

"Oh my gosh! Mike!" Bridgette exclaimed, rushing to the edge of the cliff.

"He's okay!" Courtney called up to her as Zoey helped him to his feet.

"You sheilas will be alright." Mike told them both. "You don't have to be afraid anymore, there's a man here to save you."

"Actually, I'm not sure!" Courtney called up to the others. "I think he may have hit his head when he fell! He's not acting like himself!"

* * *

While the rest of the team was talking, B was thinking. He'd seen Scott step on the vine that could have sent Mike plummeting to his death. But he said nothing because B never spoke. Instead he simply frowned and set about his work, and before any of his teammates even noticed that he was not with them, he was almost finished his task anyway.

He walked to the edge and tossed the braided vines over the edge down to the three stranded teens. Then he walked back to the wheel he'd somehow managed to fashion, in the short time they'd not been paying attention to him. And then he began turning the wheel and one-by-one, pulled each of them to safety.

It was then that Zoey's teammates showed up, having been drawn to the area by all the commotion.

"Thanks for saving me!" Zoey said.

"Yeah, you were great!" Courtney agreed before both girls threw their arms around B.

"I hate to break up this sweet little moment, but Zoey? We're still doing a challenge." Jo reminded her.

"Oh right." Zoey said, before following her team back through the woods. Glancing back before she disappeared from sight, she called her thanks back to the boy once more.

Then it seemed to hit Courtney like a brick. "Guys! The challenge!"

And the team took off running through the woods towards camp.

* * *

"Congratulations Bass! You're the winners of today's challenge!" Chris announced as the remaining Gophers rejoined their team. "Gophers are second. Bears, I'll see you tonight at the campfire ceremony to find out who you're going to be sending home tonight."

"Lightning thinks you should all be going home for poor sportsmanship!" the athlete told his team before storming off.

As the teams made their way back to their cabins, Bridgette was chattering away to Scott, who didn't seem to be as put out by the team's loss as the rest of the team. And Bridgette seemed to have mixed feelings about the loss, which she described to Scott as being excited that they had an alliance, but disappointed that they were going to have to put it to use so soon.

Suddenly, a gust of wind took Mike's hat off and blew it into Cameron's hands. Mike turned to retrieve his hat, then gasped, no longer Manitoba Smith. "Hey Cam, why do you have my hat?"

"Mike, oh thank goodness!" Cameron exclaimed, earning a bewildered look from his teammate. "The team thinks you hit your head. You haven't exactly been _yourself_."

"Oh, uh. . ." Mike said, scratching the back of his head. "And d-do you-"

"I know the truth." Cameron said with a nod.

"Y-you're not going to tell anyone, are you?"

"No, but I might be able to help you control it." Cameron said. "I-if it's not out of line me offering to help."

"You can? That would be great, Cam!" Mike said. Then he seemed to remember something. "Oh Cam - Bridgette, Scott and I are going to make an alliance. You should be in it too."

"Oh, you want me to be in an alliance with you?" Cameron asked nervously.

* * *

**Confessional**

_Cameron sat in the confessional looking nervous. "I already said I'd be in an alliance with Sadie and B, but I just promised to help Mike with his MPD! What am I going to do?"_

* * *

"Oh, yeah, sure! That sounds, uh, great! Yeah, great!" Cameron said with a nervous nod that could have been easily mistaken for an excited one.

"Awesome! Let's catch up with Bridgette and Scott and see who we're voting for tonight!"

"Uh, actually, I will be right back!" Cameron said, turning around and hurrying over to Sadie and B, who were discussing something.

"Oh, hey Cam!" Sadie greeted him, while B waved. "Did you wanna discuss who we're going to vote for tonight?"

"Uh-" Cameron began, nervously, but at the hopeful look on Sadie's face, he folded. "Okay."

* * *

"We should vote for B." Scott suggested in a low voice to Bridgette as they sat on the steps with half of the team. Missing were Sadie, B, Courtney, Brick and Cameron.

Bridgette, who seemed to think she was the leader of the alliance, announced Scott's choice to the alliance. Mike frowned. "Why B?"

"Well, if it weren't for him, our team would have got second place!" Scott explained when Bridgette seemed at a loss for words. "He's the one that pulled Zoey up that cliff."

"What was he supposed to do? Leave her there?" Mike asked, still frowning.

Scott rolled his eyes. "Her own team could have saved her."

"But that's not fair."

"Mike, Scott's right. We should vote for B tonight." Bridgette said firmly.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Sadie asked as the remaining members of the team joined the others on the steps, leaving no more time to discuss who would be voted out that night.

"It's time to cast our votes." Courtney said with a disappointed sigh. At her words, the team rose and began to make their way towards the voting booth.

On the way, Mike caught up to Cameron, who was walking by himself. "Hey Cam? We're voting for B tonight."

"B?" Cameron squeaked in alarm.

"Yeah." Mike said, also sounding uncomfortable with the choice.

"You don't say." Cameron said, looking rather nervous.

* * *

"You're back at the campfire again tonight." Chris stated. "You've cast your votes. One of you will be leaving the island _forever_."

"Here you go." Chef arrived with a tray of marshmallows, which he handed to Chris before walking away.

Chris picked up a marshmallow and tossed it to the player whose name he called. "Scott. Izzy. Bridgette. Brick. Courtney. Mike. Cameron. Sadie."

It was down to two players. B glanced at Lightning, who didn't seem to have realized he was in the bottom two that night.

"Lightning, I'm sorry to tell you. . ." Chris began with an evil smirk. "But you're still in the game!"

"Sha-duh." Lightning said, catching his marshmallow as Sadie gasped.

"No! B!" Sadie cried out, starting to cry. "You can't be eliminated!"

"You voted out _B_?!" Courtney demanded, turning to her team with her hands on her hips, a look of disgust plastered on her face. "If anyone, he's the one who deserves to stay!"

"You can take his place if you like." Chris offered, but B held up his hand before Courtney could even refuse the offer. She shot an apologetic look at B.

"I can't believe you'd vote him out after he saved the day!" Courtney said finally.

"B, it's time to walk the Dock of Shame, take the Boat of Losers and leave the island _forever_." Chris said, prompting Courtney and Sadie to accompany B to the Dock of Shame.

"Thanks for saving me today." Courtney said sheepishly. "I'm sorry I was such a jerk to you before. You were just trying to help."

B gave the freckle-faced brunette a smile and a thumbs-up, letting her know that it was all good.

Courtney smiled at him, and thanked him once more before she backed off and made her way back to the beach.

"B, I'm gonna miss you!" Sadie told him, teary-eyed. "You'll always be my BMFFL!"

B pointed at her, then made a W with his fingers.

"W – I – N." Sadie said aloud as B signed to her. "4. K. E. B. Win for. . . K-Katie, E-Eva and B."

The boy smiled and gave her a thumbs-up.

Sadie burst out with a fresh round of tears, and wrapped her arms around B's shoulders, surprising the grey-eyed male with the tearful embrace, before declaring that she would indeed win for them. B patted her on the shoulder awkwardly, before having to push her away because Chef was making his way down the dock with a look that said he wasn't taking any prisoners.

Sadie sat on the dock waving to her friend as the boat drive him out of sight, crying as she had done when both Katie and Eva had been eliminated.

* * *

**The Votes**

" _B." Scott said simply._

Static.

" _Lightning was so mean earlier." Sadie told the confessional camera._

Static.

" _Sorry buddy. B." Mike said with a frown._

Static.

" _Lightning." Brick said. "He's not a team player."_

Static.

" _Scott's right. We have to vote for B." Bridgette said._

Static.

_B made the letter 'L' with his fingers._

Static.

" _B!" Izzy said, her face beet red as she stood on her head in the confessional._

Static.

" _I vote for Lightning." Courtney said with a shrug._

Static.

" _I think they should all go home. Lightning should be a team of one!" Lightning had his arms crossed. "B's gotta go, helping the other team win! The traitor!"_

Static.

_Cameron sat in the confessional, looking frazzled. "I-I don't know! I told Sadie I'd vote with her and B! But I told Mike I'd vote with his alliance! I don't know what to do!" He looked as though he was going to break down, when he suddenly had a flash of inspiration. "Oh, I know! I vote for myself!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eliminated so far:
> 
> 37th: Katie  
> 36th: Staci  
> 35th: Sierra  
> 34th: Sam  
> 33rd: Eva  
> 32nd: Owen  
> 31st: B


	9. Flag Wars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The teams participate in a good old game of capture the flag.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Screaming Gophers: Dawn, Justin, Alejandro, Dakota, Anne Maria, Noah, Cody, Trent, Zoey, Jo  
> Killer Bass: Duncan, LeShawna, Geoff, Lindsay, Gwen, Heather, Harold, Ezekiel, Beth, Tyler, DJ  
> Thrashing Bears: Sadie, Cameron, Brick, Courtney, Scott, Lightning, Izzy, Bridgette, Mike

"Last time on Total Drama Island, the contestants participated in a fun and safe camp classic – a scavenger hunt! Courtney almost got eaten by a bear before she and Zoey fell off a cliff. They almost died – it was great!" Chris announced. "Dawn, Noah and Scott got sprayed by a family of skunks, and Lindsay tried out a _fragrant_ new face-mask formula. In the end, the Bears sent B home after a tearful departure of forgiveness and friendship. Who will get the boot tonight in the most dramatic campfire ceremony yet?"

_**Cue theme song.** _

Noah awoke to wood shavings hitting his face periodically, and when he opened his eyes, he found Scott sitting nearby him, whittling away at his spear. When the ginger-haired boy noticed that Noah was awake, he smirked. "Well good morning, _sunshine_."

"Do you have to do that?" Noah asked in irritation, brushing the shavings off his face as he sat up.

"You and the fairy princess sleep well?"

Noah rubbed his shoulder, which was sore from his having slept on a picnic bench all night. "I didn't, and I couldn't care less about her."

"So your little sleepover wasn't fun after all? What a shame."

Noah frowned in annoyance. "I hardly see how being banished from the cabins because we smell like skunk counts as a sleepover." Scott, who was still whittling, flicked another wood shaving onto Noah's shirt, making the boy's frown even more annoyed as he brushed it off. "Can I help you with something?"

"I don't know – can you?" Scott said with a smirk before he walked away without another word.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _What is that guy's problem?" Noah asked with a frown. "I have a feeling that it's got something to do with his precious 'fairy queen' or whatever it is that he calls her. And let me be the first to say, he's welcome to her and her stupid pet skunks."_

* * *

"Hi Sadie." Harold greeted the rival team member with a smile. "Are you feeling better today?"

She nodded and offered a half smile. "Yeah."

"Good thing you're warmer now. You could have caught hypothermia or something, being locked in that freezer for so long."

"That would have been, like, so bad."

"Yeah. Good thing I know how to treat people suffering from hypothermia."

"Wow, that's really lucky!" Sadie said. "You must be, like, really smart!"

"Yeah, I'm kind of like Albert Einstein if Albert Einstein were to be reincarnated." Harold said.

Sadie put her hands to her mouth to cover her giggle. Then, her giggling ceased as she seemed to come to a sudden realization. "I didn't thank you for letting me out of the freezer, did I?"

"No, you didn't."

"Well, thank you."

"Do any of you maggots feel like explaining why my entire kitchen stinks of skunk?" Chef Hatchet demanded as he walked into the mess hall. Sadie glanced at her teammates and saw Cameron waving to her to join the rest of the team at the table.

"It was really bad." Harold said with a nod as Sadie turned to join her team.

"What was?" Sadie asked, glancing back at the ruddy-haired geek.

"The skunk smell in the kitchen yesterday. It was rank in there when I let you out of the freezer. Didn't you notice?"

"No, actually."

"Well, you were probably too cold."

"Yeah." Sadie said with a nod before she joined her team at the table.

"Where are you going, Bridge?" Mike asked the freckle-faced blonde as she picked up a plate and turned towards the door of the mess hall.

"To give this to Scott. He can't sit with us while he stinks of skunk." Bridgette responded before she headed out.

Sadie brought a spoonful of food up to her lips and paused a moment. "Wow, there are a lot of skunks around here." She commented before Chef emerged from the kitchen once more, this time brandishing a massive knife.

"And would any of you care to explain why the inside of my refrigerator door is full of dents?"

Sadie gulped, her dark eyes wide as she regarded Chef Hatchet and the butcher's knife he wielded. "You know, on second thought, I'm not that hungry after all." And she fled the mess hall in the most non-suspicious speed-walk she could manage.

* * *

"Good morning campers! We've got lots of fun in store for you today!" Chris announced with an enthusiastic grin. The assembled teens looked nervous at the prospect of another challenge that Chris considered _fun_. "It's a camp classic – capture the flag!"

Chef handed three flags to each of the teams while Chris turned with a megaphone to make sure Noah, Dawn and Scott, all still outcast because of their skunky stench, could hear what he was saying.

"It's not too dangerous, is it?" DJ asked, looking down at the furry grey bundle in his arms. "I don't want Bunny to get hurt."

Chris frowned at DJ but otherwise ignored his words. "Each team has been given three flags. The first team to get three of another team's flags wins the challenge! Our interns were kind enough to gather a large pile of junk here for you to use as supplies. Build a fortress, make weapons – anything goes as long as you capture the other teams' flags!"

* * *

"Hey Gwen!" Mike called to the teal-and-black haired goth girl, waving her over to him.

Gwen, Zoey and Trent paused as they looked over at the brunette male. Trent glanced at Zoey who was trying not to stare at what she'd described earlier as Mike's _perfect hair_ , and then at Gwen. "I didn't know you were friends with Mike."

Gwen herself looked perplexed. "I'm not. I should probably go and see what he wants though."

"Put in a good word for Zoey, will you?" Trent whispered to the goth as she passed.

"Planning on it." she said with a nod as she turned and began to make her way over to Mike.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I guess Bridgette told him that someone here at camp has a crush on him." Gwen said with a shrug. "I suppose I should have expected that, but still. . . although I guess that makes my plan to help Zoey a little bit easier."_

* * *

"Hi Mike, how's it going?"

"Not bad. And you?"

"Fine thanks." Gwen said, scratching the back of her head. "So I guess Bridgette told you, huh?"

"Yeah." Mike nodded. He looked awkward for a moment, before speaking again. "So. . . how are you liking being on the island so far?"

"It sucks." Gwen answered with a shrug. "But some of the people I've met are alright."

"Well, that's good."

"If you're quite finished fraternizing with the enemy-" Heather began.

"I'm not, actually." Gwen snapped, causing Heather to walk off in a huff. Then she glanced back at Mike. "And then there's Heather. She's in a league all her own."

"Don't get along, huh?"

"Not in a million years." Gwen said. "I've never met such a bossy, superficial control freak in all my life."

"She sounds terrible."

"She is.

"It sucks that you're stuck on the same team as she is." Mike said, putting a hand on Gwen's shoulder as if to comfort her. They both glanced down at his hand as though surprised, then Mike tore his hand away as though Gwen's shoulder was suddenly on fire. "I should probably get back to my team. It was nice talking to you!"

"Okay, bye." Gwen said quietly as the other boy fled. Then with a shrug, she returned to her own team where Heather was seething and had apparently decided to take out her aggression on LeShawna, who looked as though she was about ready to return the favour by giving Heather a beat down. It wasn't until she had reunited with her own team that Gwen realized she'd forgotten to mention to Mike just how awesome and available Zoey was.

* * *

"Here, protect this." Jo commanded, one hand covering her nose and the other tossing a flag in their direction.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Noah asked with an unamused look at the blonde jock. "Knowing how athletic I am?"

"Don't worry. Nobody wants to come within ten feet of you two. You stink!"

"Gee thanks." Noah said, still not amused. "Hey, maybe you should give us each a flag and we'll stand at opposite ends of camp to protect them."

"No, you two need to stick together. Your stench is more potent when you're together." Jo said, before turning to leave the two of them once more. "Don't screw up!"

* * *

**Confessional**

_Noah looked even less impressed than usual, disproving all theories that such a feat was not possible. "Typical. I get stuck with Dawn_ again _. I'd rather team up with_ anyone _but the skunk whisperer. Because of her, I had to sleep on a picnic table last night. Do you have any idea how uncomfortable that was? Ugh, this stinks - pun intended. Life, why do you hate me so?"_

* * *

"Are the teams ready?" Chris asked the teens, glancing from one to the other and grinning over the fact that none of the teams looked anywhere near prepared. Then in one breath, Chris made a quick announcement in one breath while Chef waved a checkered flag. "Great! _Readysetgo_!"

"Wait, what?" Tyler asked, standing up too quickly and hitting his head on the metal bar above him and knocking himself to the ground.

"AAAAARGH!" Jo screamed, charging at the Bass team's nearest flag.

Both Harold on the Killer Bass team and Cameron on the Thrashing Bears team seemed to have had the same idea and had both fashioned themselves armour out of the scrap, although Cameron's was much less makeshift than Harold's.

"I'll defend us!" Harold announced, charging forward with his broom handle as though hoping to hold off Jo from taking their team's flag. Unfortunately for Harold, his armour was not as effective as he'd hoped it would be, and after Jo aimed a punch at the geek's stomach, he dropped to the ground with a moan of agony.

"Oh my gosh! That looked like it really hurt!" Sadie cried out in alarm, ceasing her mad dash for the Bass's flag and glancing down at the ruddy-haired boy for a moment.

"It did." Harold managed to groan.

"Are you okay?" Sadie asked.

"Yeah, fine." Harold moaned as he rolled over.

"Oh, right! The challenge!" Sadie cried out, before resuming her mad dash for the same flag that Jo was going after.

Suddenly a George-of-the-Jungle-eque battle cry pierced the air and suddenly Izzy was soaring high above everyone's heads, clinging to a vine. "Izzy's gonna win it!"

"Dakota! Watch out!" Cody cried out, shoving the girl out of the way in desperation, only to end up with Izzy's foot planted firmly in his groin. The breath knocked out of him, Cody dropped to the ground with a high-pitched squeak. "Ow."

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Cody fixed my phone and now he saved me from Izzy. He's kind of like my knight in shiny armour." Dakota's arms were crossed over her chest as though she was cold. "And I get this weird mushy feeling inside whenever I'm around him."_

* * *

"Lindsay, Beth, do not let this flag out of your sight for one second! If you don't protect it from the other teams, I can't save you from being eliminated if we lose." Heather instructed.

"Got it!" Beth agreed with a nod, spraying saliva with each word. "What are you going to do?"

"Supervise." Heather said simply, taking a seat on a nearby suitcase to file her nails. Unfortunately the suitcase, which Heather had ordered Beth to drag from the junk pile for her to sit on, then fell open and unleashed a raccoon on the queen bee.

The bandit-masked animal hissed up at Heather, who screamed and fled when the animal began to pursue her, teeth chattering as though it wanted to take a bite out of Heather's leg. The raven-haired teen sprinted through the crowd pursued by the furry creature.

"So, like, what do we do now?" Lindsay asked, looking after Heather with a finger on her lips, her wide blue eyes as vacant as ever.

"Heather said protect the flag, so that's what we've gotta do." Beth told the blonde, flashing her a tin-and-tooth smile.

"Oh, right. I knew that!" Lindsay said with a nod. She glanced around. "Wait, where's the flag?"

Beth gasped as she whirled around, but then sighed with relief. "You sure scared me there, Linds! It's right here." Beth motioned towards the flag.

"Okay." Lindsay nodded.

* * *

**Confessional**

_Lindsay was sitting in the confessional looking extremely relieved. "I'm sure glad Belle showed me what our flag looked like! I totally didn't know what I was looking for before."_

* * *

"We are truly fortunate." Alejandro said aloud to his teammate Justin as he glanced around at the other teams, a smirk appearing on the faces at who they had arranged to guard their flags. "With so many girls guarding the flags, it would be very useful to have an attractive male model on our team."

"Yeah." Justin said with a nod, adjusting his sunglasses.

When Justin failed to get the hint, Alejandro rolled his eyes before continuing his charade. "Hold on comrade – aren't _you_ an attractive male model?"

"Yeah, I am." Justin nodded. It took a moment before Justin blinked in realization. "Oh, hey, maybe I should go distract the other teams and win us some flags."

"You have such a devious mind!" Alejandro feigned surprise. "I never would have thought of that!"

"I guess this team is just lucky to have me." Justin commented before making his way over to the Killer Bass team, where Beth and Lindsay were guarding one of their team's flags. Beth was sitting next to it while Lindsay was staring at the flag intently as though she expected it to get up and walk away on its own.

"Move it or lose it!" Lightning said as he sprinted past Justin, nearly bumping into him as he passed.

"No! Lightning! You missed the flag!" Courtney's shrill tone cut through the commotion, making Justin roll his eyes.

"Hi." Justin said, flashing a charming smile at Beth and Lindsay.

"Wow." Lindsay said, her wide eyes regarding Justin's toned chest, muscular shoulders, even tan and his pool blue eyes.

"Hi." Beth greeted the male, her face flushing bright red at the sight of him.

"You know, you're really cute." Justin said, although he said it in such an ambiguous way that either girl could believe it was directed at them.

"Oh my gosh!" Beth cried out suddenly, but her attention was no longer on Justin. Instead she leaped to her feet and dove in front of several other campers, crossing her arms over her chest as her body slid in the dirt.

"Are you okay?!" A male voice asked in alarm. The bulky male sprinted to the brunette's side. "Bunny!"

"He's okay." Beth assured him as she sat up, cradling the grey rabbit in her arms. "You were supposed to be watching him, DJ!"

"I was! He ran off the minute I took my eyes off of him!"

"He could have been hurt or killed! As it was he was nearly trampled!"

"Do you think I don't know that? I took my eyes off him for like a second and a half and when I looked back, he was gone!"

"Hey! That's my girlfriend, dude!" An outraged male voice exclaimed, drawing their attention back to their team's flag.

Justin looked at Tyler for a moment, then smiled at Lindsay. "Is this your boyfriend?"

The blonde turned to look at the doe-eyed jock, her brow furrowed. After a moment, she turned back to Justin. "I don't know. He doesn't really look familiar."

"The lady has spoken." Justin said, flashing Tyler a triumphant smirk.

"Oh my gosh, you think I'm a _lady_?" Lindsay swooned.

"Do you want to fight, dude?!" Tyler asked Justin, putting his fists up.

"No, that's okay, I've got what I wanted." Justin said, backing away from the Jock and his ditzy girlfriend. "She's all yours."

"Beth! Lindsay! Tyler! What are you doing?!" A harsh female voice made Beth, Lindsay and DJ cringe. "Don't just stand there like idiots! He's getting away with our flag!"

"Yes Heather!" Beth barked in response, handing Bunny to DJ. "Keep a closer eye on him this time!"

Then Heather's alliance sprinted after Justin.

* * *

"So I was thinking, if we're both still in the competition tomorrow, did you want to hang out?" Mike asked as he blocked Gwen from getting too close to the flag he'd been assigned to defend.

"Are you trying to distract me?" Gwen asked as she feigned left but instead went right.

"No. Am I distracting you?"

"No."

"Okay, good." Mike said, blocking another attempt to get the flag. "So how about it? Wanna hang out?"

"Yeah, sure." Gwen said finally, nodding.

"Great! Wanna meet up at the mess hall in the morning?"

"Yeah, okay. See you then." Gwen finally dodged Mike and lunged for the flag, only to have Mike grab her around the waist and foil her attempt.

"Hey!" Gwen protested as Mike picked her up and swung her back around so that he was once again between her and his team's flag.

"Not this time! Sorry – it's nothing personal, I promise!"

* * *

**Confessional**

" _So I look over and Mike is hugging Gwen! Hugging her! Mike and Gwen! I thought Gwen liked me! Not_ Mike _!" Trent lamented to the confessional camera. "I guess he's just not that into Zoey." His green eyes grew wide. "Zoey! Oh man, she's going to be crushed! She's crazy about Mike! Probably as crazy about him as I am about Gwen!"_

* * *

"Good thing you're finally _pulling your weight_ on the team." Scott said, putting additional emphasis on the term 'pulling your weight' as though to indicate he was making a jab at the girl. He'd need to get rid of her next, he couldn't have her winning challenges for the team – it would ruin all of his plans.

She frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well it _was_ your fault we lost the last challenge." Scott said in a very matter-of-fact tone. "You and your _little_ friend B have just been deadweights holding the team back. Lucky for us that you're finally making an effort to help the team win now that he's gone. Maybe we should have voted him out a few challenges ago."

* * *

**Confessional**

" _That was so totally mean and uncalled for." Sadie said with a frown. "I so don't know what Bridgette sees in that guy."_

* * *

"F-Y-I, I got locked in Chef's freezer for like three whole hours!" Sadie retorted. "It totally wasn't _my_ fault!"

"And why were you even in the freezer in the first place?"

"Because I was looking for B!"

"Well then, I guess it's just lucky for you that he got eliminated instead of you." Scott said, before innocently adding. "Gee, how many of your friends have been eliminated so far?"

"What?"

"Haven't you noticed?" Scott asked, his voice dangerously innocent. "First Katie, then Eva, now B. You're the common element. Do you prey on the weak – or the strong - or something?"

"What?!" Sadie exclaimed, shocked. "You think I _wanted_ my friends to be eliminated?"

"Well it's an awfully weird coincidence isn't it? That everyone you touch gets eliminated? Who's next on your list?"

"I don't have a list! Katie and Eva and B were my friends! I wanted them to win this stupid competition if I didn't!"

"Then why is it that everyone you touch gets eliminated?" Before Sadie could answer, Scott turned on his heel and walked away.

Sadie looked down at the team flag in her hands, her voice barely a whisper. "It's not _my_ fault. . . is it?"

* * *

"I will defend the honour of my team!" Harold cried out, charging towards the Bears' team wielding a broom handle.

"I can't let you do that." Cameron said, stepping in front of Harold, also wearing makeshift armour. Although Cameron's armour looked like it would have done a lot more good than Harold's. Whereas Harold donned a cardboard and tin foil suit of armour and a tin foil helmet, Cameron had made more effective armour out of metal, including a breastplate from what looked like the shell of a toaster.

"You can't stop me." Harold said, making an attempt to sidestep the other armoured boy.

Cameron stuck out his arm as though he was a crossing guard asking someone to stop, and suddenly Harold found himself being dragged towards Cameron.

"It works! It works!" Cameron cheered.

"Are you controlling my mind?" Harold asked, shocked as he tried to flee Cameron.

"No! But I have magnets in my armour!"

Harold tore the tin foil off of his armour and flung it towards his opponent, but still felt his hips being dragged towards the other boy. "How is this happening? I'm not wearing anything magnetic!"

"I bet the button on your pants is attracted to my magnet!" Cameron said, almost gleeful that his invention was working so well.

"Wow, that must be a really powerful magnet to be able to drag me all the way over here by the button on my pants!"

As if on cue, the button from Harold's pants was suddenly torn from the fabric, and flew through the air and hit the magnet on Cameron's hand. Harold, now free from Cameron's magnetic pull, nearly fell backward, had it not been for a piece of scrap metal that flew across the battlefield and pinned Harold between it and Cameron's magnet, the force of the collision knocking both to the ground.

* * *

Half an hour later, Chef blew a whistle signifying the end of the game.

"Congratulations Bears for actually managing to not lose today's challenge!" Chris announced as the teens gathered before him, grinning as he observed the expressions of pain that most of the contestants wore. He was pleased by how violent some of the contestants had been in that day's challenge. Jo had probably been the most violent, although Izzy had hurt several other contestants in vine-swinging accidents that day. And Tyler had managed to injure himself when he'd taken a swing at Justin and missed. He'd done a faceplant and knocked himself unconscious. Beth had scrapes up her arms from rescuing Bunny. Both Cameron and Harold had been injured by the piece of scrap metal that his magnets had summoned, and it had been hilarious to watch the two trying to turn off the magnet.

As it turned out, being sandwiched between Cameron's metal suit and that piece of scrap metal had been the only thing holding Harold's pants up after Cameron's magnet had torn the button off his pants. The minute they'd been able to free themselves, Harold's pants had fallen down, earning him a hearty dose of humiliation from nearly everyone who had seen.

"Lucky break." Duncan snorted.

"You're just saying that because you lost." Courtney retorted in a holier-than-thou manner.

"Don't let one almost-win go to your head, princess." Duncan replied.

"I told you not to call me that."

"You like it."

"Hmph."

"Anyway, an I was saying:" Chris began again, shooting a warning look at Duncan and Courtney. "The Gophers win today's challenge for collecting the most flags. Bass, I'll see you tonight – you're back on the chopping block. Figure out who you're voting off and meet me at the campfire at dusk!"

* * *

"Hey Sadie! Do you want to hang out in the mess hall before the campfire ceremony tonight?"

"Oh, hi Harold." the raven-haired young woman said. She smiled at the ruddy-haired nerd at first, but then frowned and looked down at her own fiddling fingers. "I'm sorry Harold. I can't hang out with you."

"Oh, okay." Harold said, sounding disappointed. "Maybe another time then?"

"Can't. Not tomorrow."

"Well maybe the day after-"

"Harold, just because you saved me from the freezer doesn't make us friends." Sadie said more harshly than she'd meant to.

"Oh, okay."

Sadie winced at how disappointed the ruddy-haired nerd sounded now. "I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay. I get it." Harold said, turning and walking away from Sadie.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Harold totally doesn't deserve to get voted off, so we can't be friends." Sadie told the confessional camera sadly. She sighed. "That's just the way it has to be. Otherwise my elimination curse will get him too, and he totally seems like a nice guy who should win."_

Static.

" _Well this is certainly an interesting turn of events." Heather said with a devious smirk._

* * *

"And if I don't vote with you?" Harold asked, irritated.

"I'll tell the entire team how you helped the Bears in the last challenge. And then they'll vote _you_ out instead."

"I guess I don't wanna go home yet." He sighed. " _Fine._ Whatever you say, Heather."

"Good. Now see that you remember our little deal."

"How could I forget?"

* * *

"Bass, I think you all remember the drill by now? Yes? Yes. Okay, good." Chris began. "Duncan, LeShawna, Gwen and DJ – you're all safe."

"You know it, baby!" LeShawna said as the four named contestants caught their marshmallows and went to the campfire.

"Geoff, Heather, Beth and Harold."

Four more campers joined their safe teammates to roast marshmallows over the campfire.

"Tyler."

"Yes!" Tyler cheered, sprinting to the host to grab his marshmallow.

"And the camper going home tonight is. . ."

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

"Why aren't there any marshmallows left, eh?" Zeke interrupted suddenly.

"Because you're both out of the contest!" Chris announced enthusiastically, grinning at both contestants like they were going to give him a million dollars.

"That's not fair, eh!"

"So? It's good for the ratings!"

"Oh! Oh! I'm not out! Hester, you can save me, right?" Lindsay said suddenly, her wide blue eyes seeking out the queen bee from her teammates.

Heather gave a derisive snort. "How? By taking your place? Not going to happen. And by the way, it's Heather."

"But. . . you said you could save me!"

"That was only if you protected the flag, which you didn't." Heather said with a tone of indifference.

"Geez, that's cold, eh."

"But I thought we were BFFs!" Lindsay said, her brow furrowed in confusion.

"Well _one_ of us should win the money, don't you think, _BFF_?" Heather said with a mocking sweetness to her tone, putting a sarcastic emphasis on the acronym when she called Lindsay her 'BFF'.

That seemed to satiate Lindsay though, who missed the sarcasm in the queen bee's tone, and instead simply smiled at the girl she thought was her friend. "Oh, yeah, I guess so."

"Hey! Let go of me, eh!" Ezekiel shouted suddenly, and the team found the home-schooled brunette being dragged towards Lindsay by Chef, who grabbed the blonde by the arm as he passed, then continued to drag the two teens to the dock of shame.

"Good luck BFF!" Lindsay shouted back at Heather once she stepped onto the boat. "I hope you win!"

"So do I!" Heather called back in an almost smug tone.

* * *

**The Votes**

" _Scrawny little white boy with his backwards view on women – Ezekiel's gotta go!" LeShawna declared._

Static.

" _Heather told me to vote for Ezekiel." Harold said with a frown. "But he's my friend. I wish I could just vote for Heather instead, but if she ever found out, she'd kill me."_

Static.

" _Lindsay. That girl doesn't have two brain cells to rub together." Gwen said._

Static.

" _I vote for Ethan." Lindsay said with a nod._

Static.

" _Lindsay, man. She let the other team just walk away with our flag!" Geoff said._

Static.

_Duncan was carving a skull into the confessional wall with his pocket knife. "Lindsay. She's hot but useless."_

Static.

" _Heather. That girl is mean with a capital M. She yelled at Beth when she was just taking care of Bunny! That's just cruel and unusual!" DJ said, before turning to the furry gray bundle in his arms. "Isn't that right, Bunny?"_

Static.

" _Lindsay, eh. She's not that smart, eh, and she lost us the challenge, eh." Ezekiel voted._

Static.

" _Ezekiel of course." Heather said, disinterested._

Static.

" _Heather said that if I don't vote for Ezekiel then the team would vote me out instead." Tyler said. "Too bad, I was just starting to like that guy. He was a cool dude even if he said some stuff that the chicks were definitely not digging."_

Static.

" _Heather said we have to vote for Ezekiel tonight, so I'm voting for Ezekiel." Beth nodded. "And he said some really mean things about girls the other day!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eliminated so far:
> 
> 36th: Katie  
> 35th: Staci  
> 34th: Sierra  
> 33rd: Sam  
> 32nd: Eva  
> 31st: Owen  
> 30th: Beverly  
> 29th: Ezekiel & Lindsay


	10. Phobia Factor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Screaming Gophers: Dawn, Alejandro, Dakota, Anne Maria, Justin, Noah, Cody, Trent, Zoey, Jo  
> Killer Bass: Duncan, LeShawna, Geoff, Gwen, Heather, Harold, Beth, Tyler, DJ  
> Thrashing Bears: Sadie, Cameron, Courtney, Scott, Lightning, Izzy, Brick, Bridgette, Mike

"Last time on Total Drama Island, our contestants found themselves in a modified version of a summer camp classic – capture the flag! Jo took no prisoners in her quest for flags, Cameron and Harold went head-to-head in a clash of the geeks, and Izzy ensured that Cody may never have children! But physical injuries weren't the only hurt that was felt by our contestants! Trent thought Mike was getting a bit too cozy with his girlfriend Gwen, and Harold felt the resounding sting of rejection when he asked Sadie out. Okay, he didn't really ask her out, but I'm sure in a few more dorky steps, Harold and Sadie would have been going out – if she hadn't said no! And to top it all off, the elimination ceremony was killer – a surprise double elimination! What else will these teen freaks do for a hundred thousand dollars? Find out right now on _Total. Drama. Island!_ "

_**Cue theme song.** _

"How long do I have to soak before I can leave?" Noah asked impatiently, looking up at Chef with his dark brown eyes.

"Until you don't stink anymore." Chef responded, a laundry peg protecting his _sensitive_ nose from the stench that the three teens currently carried. Chris and Chef had initially refused to let the three of them bathe in tomato juice after being sprayed by those skunks, but Chris had stopped finding their stench so amusing when he'd decided it had given the Gophers an edge in the capture the flag competition.

"Well how do I smell now?" Noah asked.

"What? Do you expect me to smell you?" Chef growled before he stalked out of the kitchen.

Noah sighed and slid deeper into the tub full of red-orange liquid, resting his head on the back of the wooden tub.

"You're anxious to leave." Scott observed from the tub next to Noah's. There was something about the ginger-haired teen that Noah just didn't trust. It was almost as though he was trying to draw information out of him or manipulate him. Noah thought that the rival team member was nearly as slimy as he suspected Alejandro was. "Got a hot date with someone?"

"Yes, actually, I do. Her name is Elizabeth Bennett, and she's a real firecracker." Noah commented. "Really witty and sharp tongued - she's just my type. My _dear_ friend Jane Austen set me up with her."

"BLONDIE!" A female voice interrupted their chat as a very tanned teenage girl appeared in the doorway. "We're gonna have words if you don't come get your skunks pronto!"

The two boys glanced over at the third person in the room, sitting quietly in the tub to Noah's right. She had been so quiet that they'd nearly forgotten that she was there. She'd been meditating the entire time she'd been soaking.

"Oh look, your little pets are looking for you." Noah quipped as he rolled his eyes, glad that he wasn't in the cabin.

"Just hit the little buggers with the biggest stick you can find." Scott suggested, rolling his eyes and taking a deep breath as though about to plunge into the depths of the tomato juice when he stopped suddenly.

"Where are my children?" Dawn asked, suddenly fully dried and dressed, now standing by Ann Maria's side.

"How-?" Noah and Scott asked in unison before both changed their minds about the question and shook their heads.

* * *

An ear-piercing scream alerted Dawn to the presence of her precious wildlife, although it was not coming from the cabin she'd expected it to. Ann Maria had said one of her skunks had hidden in Jo's gym bag, then placed itself between her and her hairspray.

It was then that the entire Thrashing Bear team spilled out of their cabin, gasping for breath and choking on the fumes.

"HOW ON EARTH DO YOU MISTAKE A SKUNK FOR A CAT?!" Courtney screamed at Lightning between gasping for breath in the fresh air. "SKUNKS HAVE A HUGE WHITE STRIPE DOWN THEIR BACKS!"

The Screaming Gophers had already evacuated their cabin, and only moments after Dawn's arrival, a skunk appeared in one of the dual doorways of each of the three cabins. Once they saw Dawn, they sprinted to her. Once she had calmed them, she took her 'children' to the edge of the woods to convince them to return to the forest. Unfortunately, the campers were not so lucky.

"I can't sleep in there! It smells _so_ bad!" Dakota exclaimed, changing her mind and halting in the doorway of the girls' side of the Gophers' cabin.

"Well this is just great!" Courtney cried out, outraged. "Now where are we supposed to sleep?!"

* * *

"I hope you all remember how you feel right now." Heather said coolly. "So that you all work harder next time so we don't end up here again!"

"Well then next time, maybe we should try letting people less susceptible to Justin's many, _many_ charms guard the flags." Gwen retorted, casting a dark look at Heather.

"I didn't realize someone could fantasize and threaten at the same time." Duncan said with a smirk.

"You've seen that boy, haven't you?" LeShawna said with a dreamy sigh. "I wouldn't mind a piece of that man candy myself."

"Focus, people!" Heather snapped. "You're supposed to be feeling bad about yourself right now!"

"Oh trust me, so long as you're on our team to remind us to, we will." Gwen retorted in her monotone voice.

"Permission to mingle!" Brick suddenly asked, drawing the Bass's attention to the other two teams who had just arrived at the campfire.

"And just what do you want?" Heather asked, her hands firmly planted on her hips as she regarded the newcomers.

"We wanted to know if you guys wanted to hang out. Put aside team rivalry and have a good ol' bonding session." Trent said, offering a smile.

"Oh, really?" Heather asked, raising an eyebrow at the other teens.

"Dawn's pet skunks stunk up the cabins and we need to give them time to air out." Courtney explained.

"How many times must I tell you all – they're not my pets! You should never take a wild animal from its natural habitat!" Dawn said, horrified by the use of the word 'pet' to describe her furry friends.

"Ok, _fine_. Dawn's skunk friends stunk up the cabins." Courtney said, rolling here eyes.

"Well I guess it sucks to be you guys then." Heather said, flipping her raven-coloured locks in her usual queen bee manner.

"They stunk up your cabin too." Zoey told the queen bee.

"You need to chill out queenie." LeShawna told Heather with a roll of her eyes before turning to the other contestants. "Of course you guys can join us."

"Thanks." The majority of the Bears and Gophers chorused as they joined their rivals around the campfire.

"Glad to see you made it through another campfire ceremony." Trent told Gwen with a smile as he and Zoey sat down next to her.

"Mind if I join you?" Mike asked. Zoey looked up at the brunette male with a smile on her face but it fell when she realized he wasn't talking to her, but Gwen.

"Yeah, sure." Gwen said with a shrug, glancing over at Zoey. Unfortunately, instead of sitting down beside Zoey like Gwen had hoped he would have, Mike sat on Gwen's other side.

Suddenly a blood-curdling shriek brought all the campers' attention to a single individual – DJ. "SNAKE!"

"DJ, it's okay. It's just one of the elastics from my braces." Beth said, bending down to pick it up.

The buff boy relaxed visibly. "Sorry for tripping - snakes just freak me out!"

"I feel you." Tyler said, putting a reassuring hand on DJ's shoulder. "Chickens give me the creeps, dude."

"You're afraid of chickens?" Gwen asked, unsure whether to sympathize or laugh.

Duncan chuckled. "Wow, that's really lame, man."

"Chickens _are_ kind of creepy." Zoey said with a shrug, shooting a friendly smile in Tyler's direction. "But it's the horses that really freak me out."

* * *

**Confessional**

_Gwen was sitting in the confessional, looking bored. "So suddenly everyone is having this big share-fest by the fire. Beth went on and on about how her mortal fear is being covered in bugs. Harold's afraid of ninjas. Even Heather admitted she's afraid of sumo wrestlers."_

* * *

"What's my worst fear?" Gwen asked, cocking her head to the side for a moment as she thought about her answer. "I guess being buried alive."

"Fur coats or anything else made from animals." Dawn said, choking up a little at the mere thought of such a horrific idea.

A now stench-free Noah rolled his eyes. "Electric eels."

Mike paused a moment before he shrugged. "I guess my _greatest_ fear would have to be. . . flying. That's some _crazy_ stuff right there."

"I would never go up in a plane." Izzy said, which was quite possibly the most normal and average thing she'd said since stepping foot on the island. Her hands clasped together in front of her chest, she looked genuinely terrified by just the thought of it. "Never."

"People with hairy backs." Ann Maria said, failing to suppress a shudder of revulsion. When everyone looked at her, she grimaced. "It's _so_ gross. I like my men nice and smooth."

"I'm scared of hail. It's small but deadly, dude." Geoff said.

"Not having my cell phone." Dakota said, clutching her pink flip phone to her chest. "I just couldn't cope with being cut off from everyone!"

"Being left alone in the woods." Bridgette confessed.

Scott shrugged. "Sharks, I guess."

"Bad haircuts." Sadie said.

"Oh, I change mine! That is _so_ much worse than not being able to communicate with anyone." Dakota said.

"Having to diffuse a time bomb under pressure." Cody said after a moment of thought.

"Spiders, man, all those eyes and legs just creep me right out." LeShawna said.

"Every time I see a spider, I scream." Cameron said, proving his point by shrieking suddenly as he saw a small spider crawling on the ground by Justin's foot.

"KILL IT! KILL IT!" LeShawna shrieked in terror, jumping to her feet.

Once the spider had been dealt with, Justin gave a dramatic sigh. "Being ugly."

"Oh don't you worry baby, you've got nothing to worry about." LeShawna assured the male model with a smile.

"Calculus, man! All those numbers! Scariest thing in the world!" Lightning said, shaking with fear.

"I must confess, I have a terribly weak stomach." Alejandro said, hanging his head in shame.

"For me, it's the dark." Brick confessed quietly.

"Isn't that a bit juvenile?" Jo asked with a snort of derision, making Brick's face turn red.

"Well what are you afraid of?" Mike asked, raising an eyebrow.

It was Jo's turn for her face to go red, and when it went red, it went _beet red_. "Oh fine." She rolled her eyes. "I'm afraid of girly dresses."

Lightning rolled his eyes. "You're not alone, man. Lightning thinks he speaks for all men when he say that fear of wearing a dress is in the top five."

Noah rolled his eyes. "I'm pretty sure you don't speak for _all_ men when you say that."

"What does that have to do with Jo though?" Bridgette asked, raising her eyebrow at the jock.

"It has everything to do with Joe! He's afraid of wearing dresses just like every other man that Lightning knows!"

The teens fell silent for a moment, glancing between Jo and Lightning. Finally Jo just shook her head. "Just let it go. I doubt he'd understand anyway."

"I'm not really afraid of anything." Courtney said.

"Balony!" Duncan protested with a fake cough.

"Oh really?" Courtney said, turning to the punk wit one hand on her hip. "And what exactly is _your_ phobia, Mr. Know-it-all?"

Duncan hesitated a moment as he looked around at his opponents before finally giving in. "Celine Dion music store standees." He managed to stutter out.

"Ex-squeeze me?" Cody asked with an amused chuckle, cupping his hand around his ear in the hopes that Duncan would repeat his words. "I didn't quite get that."

"Dude, did you just say Celine Dion music store standees?" Trent clarified.

"Celine Dion plays at my dad's hotels _all the time_." Dakota said. "We have _so many_ cardboard cut-outs of her in the basement of the hotels."

"So if we had a cardboard standee right now. . ." Courtney began, but Duncan cut her off.

His hands on his ears to block out the sound of her voice, Duncan looked distressed. "Shut up!" He cried out, before turning his attention to Trent. "What about you?"

"Okay, well I hate mimes. Like, a lot." Trent admitted. When Courtney rolled her eyes, the musician turned to her with raised eyebrows. "Okay Courtney, you're afraid of _something_. Spit it out."

"Nope, nothing!" the CIT insisted.

"Come on Courtney, we told you our fears." Trent said sternly.

The brunette sighed. "Okay, _fine_." She finally gave in. "I think the closest thing I have to a fear is. . . failure."

* * *

Zoey sat up, her hand flying to her mouth to cover a yawn as she blinked, taking in her surroundings. To her left, Courtney was snuggled up to Duncan, both still fast asleep and Zoey had been totally right - they were totally cute together.

"Awww." Zoey said as she looked at the couple. Courtney sighed contentedly and opened one eye sleepily, having been awoken by Zoey's 'aww'-ing at them. At first, Courtney's brain failed to register her surroundings. That is, they did until she was spoke to.

"Morning sunshine." Duncan greeted the brunette with a smirk, just having woken up himself.

Zoey couldn't help "Awww"-ing at the couple once more.

Courtney gasped in shock and pulled away from him. "Oh my gosh! _Ew_!" She jumped to her feet and pointed an accusing finger at the punk. "You were cuddling me!" Courtney turned to Zoey. "You saw that! _He_ was cuddling _me_!"

"I was calmly lying on my back, trying to catch a few z's. _You_ were snuggling up to _me_." Duncan responded casually, still smirking.

"You are such an ogre!" Courtney said, but Duncan wasn't phased in the slightest.

"Eh, I've been called worse." Duncan replied with a shrug.

"Ugh!" Was the only sound Courtney could respond with before she stormed off.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Okay, I just want to say for the record that I was asleep and therefore unconscious at the time of the alleged cuddling with said neanderthal." Courtney insisted. "So essentially, it's like it never happened."_

* * *

"You two are so cute together." Zoey told Duncan with a small smile as Courtney stormed off.

"If only she'd just admit that she wants me." Duncan replied with a snort before rolling over, presumably to go back to sleep.

Zoey's smile was wiped off of her face less than five seconds after that, because she then glanced to her left and found Trent with his back to her, snuggling Gwen from one side while Mike snuggled with the teal-and-raven haired goth from the other.

Gwen was laying on her stomach and Zoey sincerely hoped that the goth was asleep and as such unaware of the fact that both Trent and Mike had an arm around her waist. Didn't Mike know that Gwen and Trent were totally into each other? They were pretty much dating - how could he possibly have missed that?

Or maybe he didn't care. Maybe he just wanted what he wanted and what he wanted was Gwen.

Her lip trembled as she got to her feet and fled the campsite, tripping on Bridgette's ankle as a teary-eyed Zoey navigated her way through the sleeping teens. Bridgette sat bolt upright in alarm as Zoey fell across Harold, Noah and Ann Maria, the latter who woke up wielding her can of hairspray like it was mace.

"Gosh!" Harold cried out while Noah groaned at having been woken up in such a manner, then promptly went into a hairspray-induced coughing fit. But Zoey didn't stop. She picked herself up off her teammate's legs and continued to run.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _How could I have been so stupid?" Zoey asked, pressing her palms against her eyelids as_ _though to try and stop herself from crying. "Mike's single but he doesn't like me at all - he's totally into Gwen! She already has Trent and Cody, it's not fair that she gets Mike too!"_

* * *

"What was her problem?" Harold asked, rolling his eyes, while Noah shrugged, waving his hand in front of his face to try and clear the hairspray-fouled air away from his face.

"I hope she's okay." Bridgette said as though she was thinking of going after the redhead, when she glanced back at her friend Scott beside her. Hey green eyes went wide and she frowned.

Suddenly Scott opened his eyes. "Good morning."

When Bridgette's response was an unusually hostile glare, he seemed to wake up a little more and glance around him. "Hold on. . . if you're not the one snuggling me. . . then who is?"

* * *

**Confessional**

_Scott looked rather pleased with himself. "What? Putting the cat amongst the pigeons is my specialty." He put his hands behind his head. "Why else would I get that obnoxious tub of lard to cuddle me?"_

* * *

Bridgette's glare softened slightly. "Sadie. Didn't you know?"

Scott face took on a look of horror. He spoke in a whisper to the surfer chick. "Oh man, you have got to help me get away from her before she wakes up."

"Why?" Bridgette whispered back, curious.

"Just help me get away from her and I'll tell you!"

"Okay, fine." Bridgette said, gently taking Sadie's arm and holding it up for Scott to crawl out from under. The ginger-haired boy looked immensely relieved by his new-found freedom.

"Let's get out of here before she wakes up!" Scott said urgently, grabbing Bridgette's hand and towing her out of the maze of sleeping teens.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _With Lindsay out of the competition, I need someone else for my alliance." Heather said, tapping her finger against her lips as she pondered which of her teammates she could convince to be a part of her alliance. "I might know just the right idiot."_

* * *

"I have a proposition for you."

"Don't worry, Heather, I voted for Ezekiel, just like you told me to." Harold assured the queen bee.

"That's why I'm here. Well, kind of, anyway." Heather said. "As you know, Lindsay also got voted out last night. She was in an alliance with Beth and I. You see, I have a plan to take me and two friends to the final three and Lindsay was our third person. The only thing is, my plan won't work with only two people - there has to be three."

"So you want me to be in an alliance with you?" Harold asked.

"Yes. Now understand that I do not make this offer lightly. If you're in the alliance, you're in the alliance - you can't pick and choose when you're in and when you're not."

"And if I don't want to be in your alliance?"

"I'll tell everyone about your little girlfriend, Sadie. And then you won't stand a chance of making it to the final three."

Harold sighed in defeat. "Alright, fine, I'll be in your alliance."

"Very good." Heather said with an approving nod. "I'll send Beth for you when you're needed."

And with that said, the queen bee whirled around and sauntered away.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I really wish I could have said no to Heather. I don't want to be in her stupid alliance." Harold said. "But I don't want to get voted out. I really hate Heather's whole attitude. It's like - GOSH! - she acts like she owns everyone."_

* * *

Chris glanced around with a wide grin on his face as he surveyed the teens. Bridgette was glaring daggers at a bewildered Sadie, while Scott hid a grin. Trent kept shooting dirty looks in Mike's direction, and Zoey refused to speak to anyone. Tyler was picking at his food like he wasn't hungry while Heather stared thoughtfully at the Screaming Gopher's team while pretending to be listening to whatever it was that Beth was trying to tell her.

"What delightful tension!" Chris commented, before whistling loudly to get the teens' attention. "Campers! Your next challenge is a little game I like to call phobia factor! Prepare to face your worst fears!"

"Worse than this?" LeShawna asked with a grimace, holding up a forkful of the nasty breakfast that Chef had cooked them all.

"We're in trouble." Gwen said.

"First up we have Heather! Meet us in the theatre in five! You've got a date with the sumo!" Heather hardly looked bothered by Chris' announcement until the last word, which caused her to spit her mouthful of orange juice all over Duncan. That didn't stop Chris though as he continued on, enjoying every moment of the teens' suffering. "Noah – you, me, and a pool full of your favourite aquatic creatures!"

"Life, why do you hate me so?" Noah asked only half a second before his head hit the table with a thud.

"How did they know those were your worst fears?" Lightning asked, bewildered.

"Because we told them." Gwen lamented only moments before her forehead hit the table.

"Sha-Losers!" Lightning said, looking pleased with himself. "Lightning didn't tell them anything."

"Aren't you mortally afraid of calculus?" Harold asked, pushing his glasses higher up the bridge of his nose.

"Sshh!" Lightning responded, clamping a hand over the nerd's mouth. "Don't tell them!"

"Uh, Lightning?" Courtney asked, tapping the jock on the shoulder. "They're filming us twenty four hours a day, seven days a week; I'm pretty sure they heard when you told us last night at the campfire what your fear is."

Lightning released Harold with a look of disappointment. "Sha- _damn_."

"Chef Hatchet, didn't you have a _special order_ for our friend Tyler?" Chris asked, giving a wicked grin to his right hand man who was frying something.

Suddenly, Chef held out a tray with the crispy breaded skin of a Kentucky fried chicken that had been fried whole. Dawn gasped in horror because the chicken looked as though it had been breaded and fried _alive_.

"Don't worry, I doubt they fried it _alive_. They'd have animal rights groups all over them if they did." Noah commented absently to the moonchild whose face had turned a sickly shade of green. "It's probably just a rubber chicken."

It might have been alive and well once, but the beast within the breaded shell wasn't moving now though. Or at least, not until Tyler bit off the breaded crust covering the animal's head, and a live chicken's head popped out of the crust.

"Or maybe they just don't care what the activists are going to lose it over that." Noah said with a grimace.

Tyler screamed in terror and dropped the bread crumb-coated animal before he fled.

* * *

First up was Beth for the Bass. Chris lead the group of teens to a large blow up pool, but not just any blow up pool. It was filled with worms and arachnids and insects. This challenge immediately upset Dawn as well, and she flew to the side of the pool. "Don't do it Beth! You'll hurt them!"

"Back off weird girl." Heather commanded, grabbing Dawn by the shoulder and pulling her away from the pool. She turned expectantly to Beth. "Well, go on then."

"Chica, do not fret." Alejandro's smooth tones reached Dawn's ears as he took her hand and helped her to her feet.

Heather stood nearby, tapping her foot impatiently. "We're waiting."

Beth glanced at Dawn for a moment, but ultimately her loyalty to Heather and her team won out and with a shrug, the geeky farm girl slid in amongst the creepy crawlies. The other teens stared in horror as the brunette submerged among the writhing mass of small creatures.

Moments later she re-surfaced once more and Chris gave the Bass the first point of the game. "Beth sets the bar way up there!"

* * *

"Next up: our bad hair-cut gals!" Chris announced, taking two of the ugliest wigs he could have found and giving one to Sadie and the other to Dakota. "And remember, you can't take them off until sundown!"

Dakota and Sadie exchanged horrified glances, while Chris ushered them back out of the mess hall so that everyone would see their new 'dos. Then with a wicked smirk, the host made a sweeping motion towards the door of the mess hall.

"Introducing the ugliest member of our cast – Justin!"

"I don't think I can do this, Chris!" Justin called from within.

"Come on man, it can't be _that_ bad-" Trent called to his teammate before the entire cast gasped in shock and horror.

"Man can they work wonders with movie make-up." LeShawna commented after a long awkward silence.

"And our resident animal lover – Dawn!" Chris announced, and the moonchild appeared in the doorway of the mess hall dressed head-to-toe in furs. And much to Chris's delight, Dawn looked like she was having a positively awful time of it.

"Aren't you afraid that she'll overheat dressed like that in the middle of summer?" Noah asked.

"I'm willing to risk it." Chris said with a shrug before turning back to the door of the mess hall for the final time. "And now our grand finale – presenting the dainty, graceful, lovely, feminine, sweet, girly-"

"WE GET IT!" A very irritated Jo called from within the mess hall.

Chris chuckled sadistically. "-the beautiful Jo!"

"Sha-zam! Who is _that_?" Lightning asked, staring with wide eyes at Jo who was all dolled up. "Sha- _wow_."

"That's it – I'm done!" Jo announced, storming back into the mess hall to take off the skintight strapless red dress and put her tracksuit back on.

"Disappointing!" Chris said gleefully. "Are you sure?"

"Positive!" Jo shouted from the building.

"Eh, your funeral." Chris shrugged.

"Nice one, Lightning!" Courtney praised her teammate for his 'act'.

"Next on the list – Izzy and Mike!" Chris announced as he lead the campers to a plane that was obviously not up to code. "Chef will be taking you on an all-expenses paid deluxe flight around the island!"

The ginger-haired girl and brunette male boarded the plane without hassle, but both started screaming their heads off the moment the wheels left the ground, although that may have been caused by the fact that tape was peeling off of the wings, revealing huge cracks.

Chris laughed as Chef's passengers started shrieking in terror, but instead turned his attention to the rest of the cast. "Let's see, who's next? Ah yes, Scott! Right this way!"

The show's host lead the shrinking group of teens to a swimming pool. Upon closer inspection, the teens could see several sharks swimming in the water.

"You cannot be serious." Scott said drily.

"All you have to do is chill with the sharks for twenty whole minutes. Here, we've even got a snorkel for you." Chris handed the ginger-haired boy a snorkel before finding a second one and handing it to Noah. "That pool is the electric eel pool. Same deal: twenty minutes in the water and you're good to go."

"Oh yippee." Noah deadpanned as he approached the pool full of eels.

"You can do this." Bridgette said gently as she put a reassuring hand on Scott's shoulder. "But it's alright if you can't."

* * *

**Confessional**

" _What is Chris thinking?! Swimming with sharks without a shark cage? Scott could be killed!" Bridgette said, her eyes wide with alarm. "I've seen sharks eat surfers whole before – this is crazy!"_

* * *

"We'll be back in twenty minutes to make sure you're both still alive." Chris told the two boys.

"We're just going to LEAVE him here? With sharks?!" Bridgette cried out in alarm.

"Your concern for _me_ is heartwarming." Noah said to Bridgette sarcastically. "I'm only about to be electrocuted like five hundred times."

"Yes – isn't it great?! And thank you for volunteering to go next, Bridgette!" Chris said before leading the teens towards the forest.

"Oh crap." Bridgette muttered under her breath as they lead her to a log in the middle of the woods.

"Six hours alone in the woods – I hope you're ready!" Chris announced.

"So do I." Bridgette said in a horrified whisper as everyone abandoned her.

"Good luck. You can do this!" Courtney encouraged her teammate before running off to join the rest of the teens.

"Next on the list is Harold." Chris looked around and when he did not see the ruddy haired geek, he crossed his arms. "Does anyone know where he went?"

"Dude said he was going to the bathroom." Tyler told the host.

"Perfect!" Chris said gleefully before speaking into a walkie talkie. "He's in the communal bathrooms." With that said, he rubbed his hands together and selected his next victim. "Alright, so next up is Cody!"

"Oh crap." the techie said with a sigh as Chris lead them to the edge of the forest where several stinky garbage cans were rigged with wires and an alarm clock.

"Alright Cody, this stinkbomb is going to go off in exactly fifteen minutes. Everything you need to know to diffuse it is on these schematic blueprints." Chris handed the geek the blue papers.

"What? Are you crazy? I can't do this." Cody said, his hands in his hair.

"Then I suggest you find a safe place to hide, bra." Chris said, chuckling as he turned to leave the geek.

"Wait, you're not gonna stay to watch?" Cody asked.

"No way! That's a live bomb, dude!" And with that said, Chris lead the group of teens on to the next teen's challenge. This one was set back at the mess hall. A broad smile on his face, Chris handed a pack of paper each to Courtney and Lightning. "It's test time!"

"Aww man, Lightning thought this challenge was test enough!"

"You get to write a calculus test!" Chris told the athlete cheerfully.

"NOOOOOOOOOOO!" Lightning cried out.

"Oh suck it up." Courtney said, rolling her eyes at the athlete before turning to the host with a smile. "Is that the same test I'm writing?"

"Nope! You get to do advanced theoretical physics, neuroscience and biochemistry!"

Courtney frowned. "That'll be a challenge, but I'm sure I can manage it."

"Oh, and I forgot to mention one teensy detail – I hope you speak German, Swahili and Mandarin because each section is written in a different language!" Chris said. "Your school said they'd even count it as extra credit for next semester!"

It was Duncan who caught Courtney as she fainted.

"Come on Princess." the punk said, gently patting the brunette's cheek until she came to. When her onyx eyes fluttered open again, Duncan flashed her his charming smile. "Come on Princess, you've got a test to write."

"Isn't fear a wonderful thing?" Chris asked, pleased with himself as he continued on to the next location: the beach. He locked Gwen into a clear box so that she could watch herself being buried alive – that had been his idea.

"Don't worry, you've got enough air in here for an entire hour – you only need to do ten minutes." Trent reassured his girlfriend. "As soon as you're done, I'll dig you straight up."

"Hey, Casanova, maybe you could try helping our team win instead of our opponents?" Jo suggested, shooting a warning look at the lovestruck musician.

"I'll do it." Geoff volunteered, accepting the walkie-talkie that Trent offered him. He sat cross-legged by Gwen's timer and held the walkie talkie up to his mouth as the others made their way to the next challenge. "Hey Betty."

"Geoff? Where's Trent?" Gwen's voice sounded distressed coming through the walkie talkie.

"His team needed him for something so you get to chill with me."

"Great." Gwen said, annoyance now replacing the fear in her monotone voice.

* * *

"One whole h-hour?" Brick repeated, fear making his voice crack.

"Yep! And the best thing is that it'll be pitch black the entire time!" Chris said gleefully as Brick walked into the room. Chris slammed the door behind him before leading the teens on to the next phobia challenge. But not before Brick ran screaming from the room, the front of his pants damp from where he'd wet himself.

"He is enjoying this way too much." Trent commented to Zoey, and frowned when her response was an almost-hostile grunt. "Oh, hey, Zo, what's the matter?"

"What? Haven't you noticed?" Zoey snapped, turning away from her friend so he wouldn't see her lip tremble. Then she turned back to him. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have spoken to you like that – it was rude."

"What's up? You can tell me."

"Mike. And Gwen. That's what."

"Oh, _that_."

"It's not fair." Zoey said, and Trent nodded in agreement but was otherwise silent. Trailing at the back of the pack, the redhead suddenly turned to her friend. "Trent?"

"Yes?"

"I'm pretty, right?"

"What?"

"Do you think I'm pretty?"

"Uh – yes, of course! You're really pretty, Zoey!"

"Am I as pretty as Gwen?"

"Uh. . . definitely."

"Then why is it that guys are lining up to be with Gwen and nobody is even looking at me?" Before he could answer, she crossed her arms and turned her back to him. "I'm not desperate – I've just never had a boyfriend before and I thought that maybe here . . ."

Trent was silent as Zoey trailed off, unsure what to say. "You still like Mike, right?"

Zoey nodded mutely.

"Well maybe you should just try talking to him." Trent suggested. "Try telling him how you feel."

"I can't do that! He's totally into Gwen! Just because I want a boyfriend doesn't mean I want to be someone's second best."

"I guess you're right. You deserve someone who's totally crazy about you – you definitely don't deserve to be someone's second best." Trent sighed. "Mike is still an issue though. I just wish he'd stop trying to steal my girlfriend."

"Oh, there you are!" An intern said, sighing in relief. "You guys better hurry up – it's Zoey's turn to face her fear!"

The redhead paled immediately, and Trent took hold of her arm, in case she fainted. "Come on Zo, it's your turn. You can do this."

"You don't understand – when I was a kid, I went to this carnival and they were doing pony rides. Something scared the one I was on and it went ballistic. I fell off and it nearly trampled me. I haven't been able to go anywhere near a horse ever since."

"Hey, the carnival scared me too. My mom took me to one when I was little to see the elephants – I was stoked. I was so busy watching them that I lost her for a minute. I called out but when I turned, all I could see was this horrible white face with black lips pretending to be me. I screamed and tried to run, but every time I turned around, he was there doing this creepy run and scream routine."

"Mimes are pretty creepy." Zoey replied.

* * *

"IT IS THE SMALLEST SNAKE EVER DJ, JUST PET IT ALREADY!" Heather commanded, earning scornful looks from her teammates. She shrugged carelessly.

"Well that was disappointing." Chris said as DJ swallowed his fear and held the snake. "There weren't even any tears."

"It's not slimy like I thought it was gonna be." DJ said as he put the snake back in its terrarium.

"Next up we'll be having a one-on-one battle between Heather and our friend the sumo!" Chris announced.

"Damnit!" Heather said with an annoyed sigh.

"That's karma for you." Duncan said with a sweet smile.

"Oh shove it." Heather said, flipping her hair and walking down the bleachers and up onto the stage. By the time she saw the sumo, her entire body was trembling. When the sumo wrestler charged her, she squatted down to protect herself and accidentally tripped the sumo, causing him to fall off the stage and therefore winning the match.

"And that's another point for the Killer Bass. So it's four points Bass so far. Lets see if any of our Gophers or Bears can get some points, otherwise they'll both have to send someone home tonight!" Chris said as he glanced over at the plane that was now descending from the skies. "Looks like Mike and Izzy are back – that's two points for the Bears!"

"Woo! Way to go team!" Cameron and Sadie cheered as the duo escaped the plane and frantically began kissing the ground.

"Ah, Chef, glad you're back!" Chris greeted his co-host with a smile. "Speaking of backs, it's time for Ann Maria to shave yours!"

"Alright." Chef shrugged before taking off his shirt.

"You'll need this." Chris said, handing a razor to Ann Maria. "Don't miss a spot."

"You can do this chica." Alejandro encouraged her, glancing around at his teammates. They were behind in the challenge. Jo had backed out within the first five minutes, Zoey was still curled up in the fetal position, refusing to get any closer to the horse that Chris wanted her to ride, and Trent had ceased trying to encourage his red-headed friend the minute he'd seen the mime.

Ann Maria gagged but stepped up to the plate with as brave a face as she could muster. Unfortunately, her almost-composure dissolved completely the minute she started shaving Chef's back, and she had to turn away. She tried shaving him with her eyes closed, but that didn't help either.

"I don't get paid enough for this." Chef growled as Ann Maria threw up all over his back.

"Wow, Gophers, you guys really suck." Chris announced cheerfully.

There was a huge _BANG!_ suddenly, causing the campers to look around in alarm. A few of them even asked: "What was that?!"

"If I had to guess, I'd say that Cody just failed to complete his challenge." Chris said gleefully.

"HELP!" Trent screamed as he ran by, pursued by the mime.

"Just talk to him dude! Ask him to go away!" Chris told the musician through a megaphone before he looked at Chef again. "Chef, didn't you have a special treat for Alejandro?"

"Señor, ten misericordia de mí!" Alejandro cried out before stopping forward towards the plate of sludge that Chef was offering him. Taking the bowl, Alejandro nearly threw up just from the sight. There was long stringy red tissues that looked like the intestines of a small animal like a frog or a mouse. There were grey and brown hairs throughout the mixture, and several bits of shiny pink-brown skin that looked like earthworms. And to top it all off, it looked as though an entire bowl of clear, round, slimy things with black dots in their centres had been dumped on top like chocolate sauce on a Sunday.

Alejandro grabbed the spoon from the bowl and took his first bite.

"Do you like the crunch?" Chris asked Alejandro with a grin. "We had some leftover shells from the Escargot that we had last night and figured you'd appreciate us saving them for you."

Miraculously, Alejandro managed to keep it down. Well, at least until Dawn gasped in horror. "Chris, _please_ tell me that those aren't _real_ frogs' eggs! You're an evil, evil man!"

And then there was no stopping Alejandro.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Idiotas incompetentes, todos ellos!" Alejandro spat before throwing up again._

* * *

"Let's see how our friends are doing." Chris said gleefully, leading the teens back to the pools where they had abandoned Noah and Scott.

Scott pulled himself out of the pool, grinning. "Welcome back. How has the challenge been going?"

"Bzzzt!" Noah buzzed, having been shocked again as he waded towards the ladder out of the pool. "Bzzzt! Bzzzt!"

"Congratulations Noah, on earning your team's first point!" Chris said. "And that's another point for the Bears! That makes it three points each for the Bass and the Bears, and one point for the Gophers."

"So has nobody else gone yet?" Noah asked, looking at his team and frowning when several members of the team looked absolutely ashamed of themselves. "You're kidding me. How many people have gone aside from me?"

"Five, if you don't include people like Dakota and I, who are still working on their challenges." Dawn told him.

"So you're telling me that I didn't need to get shocked like a hundred different times by electric eels?" Noah asked his team, snatching a dry towel from the side of the pool. "You might have told me that we weren't participating in this challenge. Now, if you losers will excuse me, I'm going to go back to the cabins and read. Hopefully I'll even be able to forget that horrific experience."

"Well if we're going to lose anyway, then I'm not wearing this monstrosity for the rest of the day." Dawn decided, taking off the fur had Chris had given her. "I'm going to put my wonderful animal-friendly clothes back on."

And with that, she stormed off after Noah.

Suddenly, a hysterically shrieking Bridgette appeared from the forest and sprinted across the campsite to Scott's side. Bridgette threw her arms around Scott's neck and buried her face in his shoulder. "Th-the . . . woods . . . are so . . . scary." She told him between gasps for air.

"Its okay, you're safe now." Scott soothed the blonde, although his voice was aloof and careless.

"No point for the Bears from Bridgette, then." Chris commented.

"I DID IT!" Trent cheered, jogging to meet up with Chris' group again. He was dripping wet from head to toe as though he'd jumped in the lake. "I told that freaky mime to buzz off!"

"Congratulations! Your team gets another point! Good thing too, because you guys are way behind!"

"If we're losing, then I may as well wash off this horrific movie make-up and stop looking like an ogre." Justin said.

"Not so fast!" Chris said as Justin and Dakota turned to leave. "If you guys can get the last three members of your team to finish their challenge, I'll give you double points."

"That's not fair!" Heather cried out, crossing her arms over her chest.

"We accept your deal." Alejandro said, flashing Chris his most charming smile.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Let's see how you like this, Alejandro." Heather said with a smirk._

* * *

"Even though your makeup is terrible, _I_ remember the gorgeous hunk underneath it all." Heather purred, running her fingers up Justin's arm.

"You know, you're completely right." Justin said with a smile.

"And just think – at sunset, all that makeup comes off and you'll be back to your _perfect_ self again."

"I definitely will."

"Trying to thrown the Gophers off their game I see, Heather." Alejandro said, frowning as he observed how close Heather was to the male model.

"Oh, I would never do such a thing to _Justin_. He's too perfect to distract." Heather sounded positively dreamy.

"She's right you know."

"We have a challenge to complete!" Alejandro snapped, grabbing Justin by the wrist and towing him away.

"Hey, be careful with those wrists! I have a modelling contract for them!" Justin insisted. "I can't have red marks!"

"Cameron, LeShawna, it's your turn!" Chris announced with a smile as Chef walked up behind the duo dressed in a massive spider suit. He tapped LeShawna on the shoulder, who seemed to consider facing her fear at first. She took a few steps back before realizing she couldn't do it, instead turning with a shriek and fleeing him. Cameron took one look at the man in the spider suit and screamed like a girl for a moment before kicking Chef in the knee, downing the massive man.

"That was unexpected." Chris said with a chuckle. "One more point for the Bears."

"Yay!" Cameron cheered for a moment before seeing the murderous look in Chef's eye. At the sight of it, he fled, screaming.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _On the plus side, my arachnophobia has been cured!" Cameron said gleefully, before his cheer faded and he looked around nervously. "Except now I'm terrified of Chef."_

* * *

"Whoa, that's pretty wicked, dude!" Trent said, observing Geoff sprinting around the beach, pursued by a small black cloud that was pelting him with hail. He glanced over Chris' shoulder at the console in his hands. "Can you make the cloud go lower and pelt him harder?"

"You are one sick dude." Chris said. "But yeah."

"That's awesome." Trent said as Geoff screamed in terror, before tapping his chin with a single finger. "Do you ever feel like you've forgotten something?

"Sometimes. I usually ignore it and the feeling goes away." Chris said before he chuckled. "Watch this! I'm going to bury him in hail!"

"Bury? Right!" Trent exclaimed, turning to the party guy. "Hey Geoff! Do you know where Gwen went?"

"Aw crap!" Geoff cried out before continuing to scream in terror. "I forgot to dig her up, dude!"

"YOU WHAT?!" Trent screamed, outraged. But instead of confronting Geoff about it, the musician sprinted to the part of the beach where his girlfriend was buried and grabbed the walkie talkie. "Gwen! I'm here! I'm digging you up right now!"

* * *

"Wow, I think this is the first time I've seen a grown man cry and it isn't my fault." Jo commented, almost amused by the fact that Lightning was curled up in the fetal position near his calculus lesson.

Courtney was still slaving away at her test, although it was apparent that she'd been crying at some point as well.

"Time's up!" Chris said gleefully, yanking the page away from Courtney mid-sentence, causing her pencil to make a long line across the page, crossing out the remaining questions. He took a glance at the page, then chuckled. "Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! You were supposed to answer the German questions in Japanese, the Swahili questions in Arabic and the Mandarin questions in Latin! Since you clearly didn't read the instructions, this gets you an automatic fail!"

Courtney began sobbing hysterically.

"Since Lightning did not complete his test, only Courtney earns a point for her team. That leaves the Bass and the Bears all tied up with five points each, and the Gophers trailing behind with a lousy two points." Then the host walked out of the mess hall with a grin on his face. "Next challenger!"

* * *

As the teens watched Tyler tremble as he sat, curled in the fetal position in the middle of a pen filled with chickens, Scott approached his teammate Sadie, who stood a little ways away from the others. "Wow, that hair looks really awful on you."

Sadie frowned. "That was a totally mean thing to say."

"Although I suppose it's no worse than your usual hair."

Sadie gasped in shock. "You're so totally mean! Why would you say something like that?"

"Eh." Scott shrugged, before turning the conversation on a new topic. "You really should have said yes to Harold when he asked you out."

"He didn't ask me out! He just wanted to be friends!" Sadie exclaimed.

Scott didn't appear to be listening. "I mean, it's not like you could do any better. You'd be pretty lucky to even get a loser like Harold."

"Harold is totally not a loser!" Sadie shouted.

"How cute." Scott said in a tone of disgust.

"He let me out of the freezer when I got locked in!" Sadie told him angrily before gasping. "It was YOU!" She pointed an accusing finger at Scott. "YOU locked me in the freezer! That's why the whole kitchen stunk of skunk!"

Scott gave a slow, sarcastic clap. "Oh, how very _clever_ of you. It's a wonder you have any friends at all – if I were as stupid as you, I would be too stupid to make friends."

"Well I totally have way more friends than you'll ever have! Nobody wants to be friends with a total meanie!"

"You know, your friends probably don't even need you. Katie and Eva and B – they're probably having a party right now without you. They're probably celebrating being free from you for such a long time."

"Katie and Eva and B would so not do that to me. I've known Katie like my entire life, and Eva is so not a backstabbing jerk like you. And B is totally sweet and would never do that either."

"I'll bet Katie and Eva are total BFFs already – when you get home, they'll both have forgotten who you are. Good riddance to bad garbage, they'll say."

"Katie and Eva and B would so not do that to me!"

"Well, we'll know who's right soon enough. Sorry to be the one to tell you, but you're the next one to go. You'll be joining your little friends soon enough."

" _You're_ the reason they're gone, aren't you?!" Sadie growled, narrowing her eyes at the boy.

Scott smiled. "Well, as much as I'd like to take credit for Katie's departure, I can't. But as for Eva and B. . ."

Sadie took a deep breath. "You know, Katie taught me a lot of things: love thy neighbour, love thy brother, love thy classmate and even to be nice to that mean girl in homeroom! But Eva taught me a lot of things too – THIS!"

And with that, Sadie's fist connected with Scott's face, knocking him to the ground with a surprised grunt. The raven-haired girl then dove on top of the redheaded redneck, straddling him and punching him repeatedly.

"Oh my gosh!" Bridgette cried out, and in a few short moments, several hands were pulling Sadie off of Scott.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _All part of my plan." Scott admitted to the confessional, holding an icepack to his face. "Poor Sadie – what will you do now that the entire team hates you?" He sighed, lowering the icepack for a moment to reveal a black eye. "Damn, Eva taught that girl how to hit and hit hard."_

Static.

" _Okay, so Chef Hatchet is pretty scary, but he's not the only person who I'm afraid of as of today." Cameron said. "Sadie attacking Scott like that was pretty terrifying."_

Static.

" _Sadie is going down!" Bridgette declared. "Nobody gets away with hitting my friends like that!"_

* * *

"Ow! What was that for?!" Scott asked innocently, putting a hand to his jaw.

Bridgette grabbed Scott, helping him stand up by putting his arm around her shoulders. And the mellow surfer girl shot Sadie one of the most hostile glares that she had ever given anyone. "Are you crazy?! Why would you hit him like that?"

"He was saying totally mean things to me!"

"Like what? Like he doesn't want to be your boyfriend?!" Bridgette asked rhetorically. "He's not into you so you hit him?"

"Hold on - WHAT?!" Sadie sputtered, her eyes wide with shock. "Why would I ever want to date a jerk like Scott?!"

"I'll thank you to not talk about _my boyfriend_ like that!"

* * *

**Confessional**

" _It just goes to show how pathetic and naive Bridgette is." Scott said. "She_ actually _thinks I feel something for her."_

* * *

"You're going out with _him_?" Sadie asked with a snort of derision. "I feel sorry for you."

"You're just jealous!" Bridgette said, before turning to Scott. "Come on, let's go get you fixed up."

* * *

**Confessional**

_Sadie sat in the confessional, looking like she had a lot of mixed feelings. "So I totally just screwed up my chances of winning this game, but I totally don't regret anything. Scott totally had that coming to him!"_

* * *

The sun was just going down when the last of the challengers had to face their fears. It was finally Duncan's turn, and the host lead the group of teens back to their cabins. Standing with her blank side to the beach was a cardboard cutout of Celine Dion, making Duncan shudder.

"You can do this." Courtney said as she took the punk's hand reassuringly. "She's pretty. She's nice."

Duncan looked down at Courtney's hand in his and smiled. "Alright, I'll try."

"Um, hello, Courtney? Are you forgetting who's _not_ on our team?" Bridgette asked in irritation as Scott, who had one arm wrapped around her waist, finished whispering something in her ear.

Courtney dropped the punk's hand like a hot rock. To cover for herself, she put her hands behind her back and gave Duncan a smile. "But it's okay if you can't do it."

"Don't listen to her! She's just trying to thrown you off!" Heather snapped.

Duncan rolled his eyes and sprinted towards the cardboard standee, wrapping his arms around it and finally conquering his fear, evoking cheers from his teammates – and from Courtney. That is, Courtney cheered until she realized who she was cheering for, and fell silent in an instant.

"One more point for the Killer Bass!" Chris announced before turning to the three contestants whose challenges had begun but not finished. "Congratulations on making it through today without taking off your wigs or your makeup! Especially in that fight today, Sadie! Great work keeping your wig on!"

"Oh can it!" Sadie snapped in irritation, sending a dark look at the host as the glares of several of her teammates bore into her back.

"Geez, _touchy_." Chris said, frowning momentarily. And then his wide smile returned. "Dakota and Justin earn a point each for the Gophers and Sadie earns a point for the Bears putting the score totals at-"

"Wait, wait, wait." Jo said. "You said you'd give us double points for whoever else finished the challenge!"

"No I didn't." Chris said in an almost sing-song tone. "That was only if _three_ more Gophers faced their fears, but since Zoey didn't face hers, no double points! And with a meagre four points, that puts you guys on the chopping block tonight! And since this isn't a reward challenge, it doesn't really matter that the Bears and the Bass tied for first place! Gophers, I'll see you tonight at the campfire ceremony!"

* * *

"Welcome back to another campfire ceremony." Chris greeted the teens cheerfully as they found their seats. "First marshmallow goes to Dakota." Chris tossed the blonde a marshmallow. "Jo. And here's one for Cody too."

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I'll admit I was a little nervous tonight." Jo told the camera. "I was weak and I failed my challenge. But it's not going to happen again."_

* * *

"Dawn. Trent. Ann Maria."

"Good luck." Trent whispered to Zoey as he passed the redhead on his way to get his marshmallow. She smiled up at her friend.

"Noah and Alejandro." the host gave both males their marshmallows before turning to the remaining two contestants. "Justin, Zoey – you're our bottom two tonight."

Zoey sighed and stood up. "I guess I'll get my stuff then."

"Sit down." Chris said, rolling his eyes.

"What's the point? Justin faced his fear but I couldn't face mine. Obviously I'm the one going home tonight." Zoey said, wiping a tear from her eye.

"Just _sit down_."

Zoey sat.

"Justin, dude, I think this one is totally wrong, but the final marshmallow of the night goes to Zoey."

A stunned silence followed as the host's words sunk in. After a few moments, Zoey rose mutely and walked to collect her marshmallow.

"I can't be eliminated." Justin said in disbelief. "I was going to donate all my winnings to charity!"

"So noble!" Dawn swooned, causing her teammates to regard her with strange expressions.

"Sorry dude, but you are." Chris said with a shrug as Chef came to escort the male model to his ride away from the island.

* * *

**The Votes**

" _Heather may think she has one-upped me, but I assure you that I am fully aware of her intentions. She has no interest in Justin whatsoever." Alejandro said. "I still vote for him though."_

Static.

" _I hate to say it but I'm voting for McGorgeousness tonight. And by that, I mean Justin. Sorry hotstuff, but Al said you gotta go." Ann Maria said._

Static.

" _I vote for Alejandro. There is a darkness in his aura which deeply unsettles me." Dawn said._

Static.

" _Alejandro told me that I could save Zoey from elimination if I vote for Justin instead." Trent voted._

Static.

" _I vote for Jo. Her fear was the easiest to face and she failed." Justin said. "Mine was the hardest to face and I managed it."_

Static.

" _Zoey is the weakest link right now, but I overheard Alejandro telling Trent to vote for Justin, and it would be foolish to not seize the chance to take down one of Alejandro's top allies." Jo said. "So I vote for Justin."_

Static.

" _Jo told me that we're voting out Justin tonight, so that's who I vote for." Cody said._

Static.

" _Alejandro told me to vote for Justin, but he totally faced his fear just like I did! I'm voting for that Noah guy tonight instead." Dakota said._

Static.

" _Oh I don't know who to vote for. Ann Maria, I guess." Zoey said with a shrug that showed she didn't particularly care. "I'm probably going to get voted out tonight anyway, so why even bother?"_

Static.

" _I'm going to take a chance and go against Jo on this one. We need to get rid of that slimy eel Alejandro." Noah said._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eliminated so far:
> 
> 28th: Justin  
> 29th: Ezekiel & Lindsay  
> 30st: Beverly  
> 31st: Owen  
> 32rd: Eva  
> 33th: Sam  
> 34th: Sierra  
> 35th: Staci  
> 36th: Katie


	11. Wave Warriors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Screaming Gophers: Dawn, Alejandro, Dakota, Anne Maria, Noah, Cody, Trent, Zoey, Jo  
> Killer Bass: Duncan, LeShawna, Geoff, Gwen, Heather, Harold, Beth, Tyler, DJ  
> Thrashing Bears: Sadie, Cameron, Courtney, Scott, Lightning, Izzy, Brick, Bridgette, Mike

"Last time on Total Drama Island, the drama got even more intense! Mike got a little too close to Gwen for Trent's liking and Courtney forgot what team she was on and actually cheered for Duncan! And Bridgette and Scott mark the start of their relationship as immediately following that one time when Sadie beat the snot out of Scott!" Chris announced in his usual cheerful tone. "Will things get even more tense between our teens? Find out right now on Total Drama Island!"

_**Cue theme song.** _

"Wow, a beach challenge!" Heather said with feigned cheer. "It's such a shame that you guys voted off Justin – he's got the perfect body for a swimsuit!"

"Now that's one thing you and I _can_ agree on." LeShawna commented, almost giving Heather a half-smile before she caught herself and turned away from the Queen Bee.

"Yes, such a shame that Justin stopped contributing to the team and was voted out." Alejandro responded coolly.

"Yes, I distinctly remember it was _Justin_ who handed us the win in the last challenge. Shame he couldn't keep the frogs eggs down, isn't it?" Heather taunted, before mocking a realization. "Hold on a moment, wasn't it _you_ who blew chunks all over his own shoes?"

If looks could kill, the one that Alejandro gave Heather at that moment would have been enough to strike her dead ten times over.

"Oh, I just love the smell of tension in the morning!" Chris greeted the teens with a cheerful smile. "Who's ready for today's challenge? Nobody? Excellent!"

"So how do you plan to torture us today?" Noah deadpanned.

"I like to call this one: ' _Wa_ _ve_ _Warriors_ '!" Chris announced in a very theatrical manner.

"That sounds like a surfing challenge!" Bridgette said enthusiastically, turning to her teammates. "If it is, we've got this one in the bag!"

"Nope, it's not a surfing challenge." Chris said with a shake of his head, before turning toward the lake. "You guys see that big yellow rectangle floating on the lake? Well that's where our next challenge takes place! Two members of each team go up ever round, and the aim of the game is to knock the other team members into the water while not falling in yourself! Now, everyone into a boat! We're heading out!"

"Yo man, do these things tip over a lot?" DJ asked, nudging one of the viking-style longboats with his foot, only to have a large piece of paint chip off the part that he'd touched.

"No, man, you're thinking of Kayaks." Geoff reassured his teammate. "Unless we hit some rough water."

"Water can be rough?" DJ asked cautiously.

"Yeah, sometimes it can get totally radical out there." Geoff replied.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _When I was eight, my brothers dared me to dive off the high-dive platform at the pool. I was scared, but I jumped. I wasn't gonna let them call me chicken." DJ told the confessional camera. "I landed on my butt – sounds better than a belly-flop, right? Wrong. My trunks went so far up my butt that I had to go to the hospital to get them removed. They invented a new word for what I did – the wedgie-flop. I've been afraid of water ever since."_

* * *

It took a few moments for the teams to pile into their boats, a few more for Courtney to get out and find life jackets for everyone, and then finally, they were on their way to the yellow rectangular platform in the lake.

"Alright, first up we'll have Zoey and Noah for the Gophers, Duncan and Gwen for the Bass and Lightning and Courtney for the Bears!"

"Well, I'm going to lose. Or die. Perhaps both." Noah said, ever the optimist as he prepared to jump from the boat onto the platform. He was shocked to find his feet sinking under his weight as soon as he landed on the platform. He was further off-balanced when Zoey jumped onto the platform beside him and made their edge sink some more. Quickly, Noah stepped further onto the platform to put some distance between himself and his teammate.

"What is this _made_ of?" Lightning demanded, looking affronted as he found the platform sinking under his weight with every step he took.

"Foam of course!" Chris said with a grin. "It would have been way too easy for you if the platform was solid, don't you think? And it's way funnier this way too!"

"Well at least my death will be in the name of humour." Noah quipped, his voice simply _dripping_ in sarcasm as he gave the host an unamused frown.

"That's the spirit!" Chris said with a grin. "Now, the aim of the game is to knock off opposing team members through any means necessary! Whoever is the last one on the platform wins a point for their team, or two points if both team members manage to stay on the platform! Now that you all know the rules - ready? Set! Go!"

The six teens wobbled their way to the centre of the wobbly platform, earning an amused chuckle from the host before the challenge actually began.

"Sha-Lightning strikes!" Lightning said, picking up Noah by the front of his life jacket and easily tossing him into the water.

"Called it." Noah sputtered as he broke the surface of the water, before his body went rigid in the water and his hair suddenly gained a static charge. "BZZZT! BZZZT!"

"Take my hand." Dawn reached over the side of the boat and grabbed Noah's hand to pull him into the Screaming Gophers' boat. Unfortunately, he received another shock and the electricity froze his body and travelled through his hand into Dawn's body, momentarily paralysing the two and locking them together from the electric shock.

And then the electric shock ended and the rest of the team was able to help hoist their drenched teammate into the boat.

Noah glared at the host. " _EELS_? SERIOUSLY?!"

Chris shrugged. "Eh, we had some left over from the last challenge."

Dawn gasped in horror. "And you let them go in the lake? How could you? Those poor eels, how must they feel? They're so far from their natural habitat!" He pale hands gripped the side of the boat as she glared at the host. "You're an evil, evil man!"

Chris wasn't fazed in the slightest. "Eh, the animal rights groups wanted us to return the eels and the sharks to the wild, so we did."

"So now there are eels _and_ sharks in the lake?" Noah confirmed. "Well that's fun."

"That's what I thought!" Chris said with a grin, ignoring Noah's sarcastic tone completely.

Noah rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to the challenge, where Courtney had just shoved Gwen off the edge of the platform into the lake. As she turned to face her remaining opponents, she found herself face to face with Duncan, who poked her in the forehead with his index finger to off-balance her and send her into the water.

"Nothing personal, princess." Duncan said with a smirk, relishing the look of absolute shock on the brunette's face. However, Duncan's smirk vanished when Courtney flashed him a satisfied grin, and not half a second later, he felt a tug at his chest. It was Duncan's turn to look surprised as he discovered that Courtney had grabbed hold of his life jacket, but not in an attempt to save herself – no, she was pulling him into the water with her. And with a splash, two more campers were out.

It was down to just Lightning and Zoey now, but not for long. Zoey had been successful in avoiding Lightning so far, but as she moved to avoid him once more, he reached out and finally managed to touch her shoulder, just managing to off-balance her enough to send her into the water with a splash.

"Nice one, Lightning!" Sadie cheered, clapping her hands like a child.

"Sha-Lightning!" the jock cheered as he jumped into his team's boat, nearly causing it to overturn.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _So Sadie likes athletic guys, huh?" Harold asked the confessional camera with an almost thoughtful expression. "I'll just have to show off my mad skillz."_

* * *

"Wasn't that exciting?" Chris asked the contestants, flashing them all with his million dollar smile. "Point Bears! Alright, let's start round two!"

"I'll go next." Harold volunteered.

"Who to pick, who to pick." Chris tapped his chin with his index finger. "Alright, I got it! Cody and Jo – you're on for the Gophers. Sadie and Cameron are up for the Bears! And who shall represent the Bass. . . . hmmmm."

"I'll go!" Harold repeated, raising his hand as though he was in a classroom and waving it to get the host's attention.

"Tyler and Beth – you're up!"

"Aww, man!" Harold responded, looking down in defeat.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Okay, so this is_ _totally terrifying. I've never been in a fight before! And being teamed up with Sadie is so scary, especially after what she did to Scott! But I guess it means she'll be able to take out the other team!"_

* * *

Chris blew the whistle to signify that the second round had begun, and Tyler charged forward, before slipping on part of the mat that was wet, and colliding with both Jo and his teammate Beth, sending the three of them into the water. Needless to say, Jo was pretty ticked about her fluke elimination, but congratulated Tyler on eliminating some of the competition for her team.

Cody was grappling with Cameron, and seemed as though he was about to overpower him.

"I'll help you, Cam!" Sadie announced as she rushed to aide her teammate, but Cameron squeaked in alarm, before trying to pull free from Cody's grasp and dragging them both into the water.

"Point: Thrashing Bears!" Chris announced, not even trying to mask his bewilderment at the match's winner.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Okay, that was totally weird. It was almost like Cam jumped in on purpose." Sadie with a frown. After a moment, she shrugged. "Oh well, at least we won!"_

* * *

"Listen up!" LeShawna commanded her team, leaning towards the middle as DJ and Geoff pulled a drenched Tyler into the boat with them. Their other freshly-soaked teammate, Beth, sat next to Heather, looking attentively to LeShawna as the sister spoke up. "I got a strategy, ya'll."

"Awesome, dude!" Geoff asked with a smile. "What is it?"

"Stay near the centre." LeShawna said simply. "The further you are from the edge, the harder it'll be to get you into the water!"

"And you don't think that maybe that thought already occurred to us?" Duncan asked with a snort of derision. "You try getting up there and following your own advice before you start preaching to the rest of us."

"Well do you have a better idea?" LeShawna asked him, raising an eyebrow.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I don't care if I have to make a deal with Heather – next time we lose a challenge, LeShawna is_ _G-O-N-E,_ gone _." Duncan told the confessional._

* * *

"My advice is you'd better hope we don't lose this challenge."

"Are you threatening me, white boy?" LeShawna asked with a frown.

"If the shoe fits," Duncan responded, his lip curled back into what could only be described as a snarl.

"How about you show me some respect?!" the loud and proud sister demanded, glaring at the punk.

"You want my respect? You're gonna have to earn it, sister!"

"If this is how you treat Courtney, I can see why she doesn't want anything to do with you."

"Chill, man, this is getting way too heavy." Geoff finally interjected as Duncan opened his mouth to respond. Geoff raised his hands as though to surrender, although to which side of the argument was unclear, trying to diffuse the situation as Duncan and LeShawna glared at one another.

"Well then maybe this'll lighten things up!" LeShawna said, grabbing Duncan by the life jacket and dragging him from his seat and giving him a hard shove over the side of the longboat, sending him into the lake with a splash.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _It's like LeShawna is_ trying _to get herself kicked off!" Heather said, looking almost gleeful. "Duncan must be almost desperate to be rid of miss bossy boots – I know I am. And I'd be a fool to let an opportunity like this just slip through my fingers."_

* * *

"Dawn?" Noah's impatient tone broke the blonde free of the trance-like state she'd fallen into. The still-soggy bookworm did not look amused, and the sarcasm in his tone reflected his irritation with the girl seated beside him. "I'm terribly sorry to have interrupted whatever curse you were putting on Chris, but it's your turn."

Dawn looked perplexed. "What curse?"

"You've been glaring daggers at Chris and muttering under your breath since the end of round one – what? You weren't trying to put a curse on him?" Noah raised an eyebrow.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I would just like to say that for the record, I do not believe in all that magic mumbo-jumbo," Noah said. "but I figured that in the weird little fairytale world that Dawn lives in, she believed that was putting a curse on Chris."_

* * *

"I would never put a curse on someone!" Dawn responded, positively horrified. "And although I can see in your aura that you do not mean it, I am _very_ offended that you would suggest such a thing!"

Without another word, Dawn rose and made her way onto the platform, joining teammate Alejandro to face off against Bass members Heather and DJ and Bear members Izzy and Scott.

"Let round three begin!" Chris called once Dawn was on the platform and four of the teens stepped forward to begin the match.

Alejandro suddenly looked very horrified, and put his hand to his mouth in shock. "Is that a rabbit getting eaten by that eagle?!"

"Bunny!" DJ cried out, whirling around to see what Alejandro was looking at.

"My mistake, amigo." Alejandro said apologetically, before giving a fiendish grin and using the planned distraction to push DJ off the foam platform, which was growing slipperier and slipperier with each round.

"Nice one." Heather said with a false smile before shoving Alejandro into the water after DJ. He grabbed onto her wrist and tried to pull her with him, but she slipped out of his grasp just in time, although she was brought to her knees at the very edge of the platform. Sliding away from the sinking edge, she made to stand up, only to find Izzy charging towards her on all fours, snarling like a rabid dog.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Well what would you have done?" Heather asked, her arms crossed over her chest as she regarded the confessional camera with a look that resembled superiority. "I don't want rabies or whatever it is that she has."_

* * *

"Nice of you to join us, mi amore." Alejandro said sweetly as Heather resurfaced beside him, gasping for air.

"Hmph." Heather responded, turning and beginning to swim towards her team's boat. Unfortunately, she hadn't made it two feet when she gasped and halted in her tracks. "I felt something under the water!"

"You're not going to frighten me, you know, so you can-" Alejandro stopped talking the minute a triangular grey fin pierced the water's surface near Heather, who retreated backwards, away from the predator and right into Alejandro's arms.

As the Gophers and Bass attempted to get close enough to save their teammates from the shark, Izzy sat on the mat, scratching herself behind the ear with her foot. Meanwhile, Scott approached Dawn as though to try and push her into the water, but accidentally stepped in a puddle of water and slipped on the mat, colliding with Izzy and sending both redheads into the water, without Dawn having touched either of them.

"Disappointing match," Chris said sounding disappointed for a moment before he noticed Alejandro and Heather clutching one another as their teams tried to manoeuvre their boats close enough to pick them up. The increasingly sadistic host smiled, and seemed cheered by this new development. "But at least the sharks have arrived! Point Gophers!"

* * *

"Round four: Trent and Anne Maria for Gophers, Geoff and Gwen for Bass, Mike and Bridgette for Bears!"

Once the named teens were up on the foam platform, the match began. Anne Maria took one look at her two female opponents and decided that they'd both be easy for her to knock off – they were scrawny and pale and would be easier to push than she would be. With a shrug, she began to approach the one closest to her – Bridgette.

Meanwhile, Gwen and teammate Geoff had managed to claim the middle of the platform and were standing back-to-back in the hopes that they'd be able to avoid being knocked off the platform. The least they could do was _try_ LeShawna's strategy.

Trent glanced at Gwen, disappointed that he had to compete against his crush in this round. If it came down to just the two of them, he'd almost certainly let her win. So Trent leaped at Mike, trying to shove him off the platform instead. Unfortunately for the musician, Mike gasped and sidestepped him with ease, dancing around the mat as though to taunt him.

"Dance with Svetlana!" Mike said with a Russian accent, grabbing Gwen's hand and whirling her around in a quick waltz-type dance before releasing her mid-spin and sending her with a splash into the water.

Trent had used to opportunity to get close enough to Mike to try and shove him off the platform again, but Mike was still too agile.

"You'll have to do better than that to beat Svetlana!" Mike said with a grin as he moved to dodge Trent a second time. Trent whirled around to try again but stepped on a slippery part of the platform and slid past, grabbing a handful of Mike's shirt in the process.

But instead of pulling Mike into the water with him, Mike's shirt ripped off and the brunette teen gasped as Trent hit the water with a splash.

"Eyy, can't get Vito out that easy, ya losa." Mike said, his Russian accent having been replaced by a Jersey one as he ran a hand through his hair to slick it all back.

Anne Maria had paused for a moment to reapply her hairspray and accidentally spraying rival team member, Bridgette, right in the face, sending the blonde into a coughing fit. Meanwhile, Geoff charged at Mike, but instead of Mike getting thrown off the platform by Geoff, Vito took a swing at his opponent and knocked Geoff into the water with a single hit.

* * *

**Confessional**

_Geoff was raised a steak to the black eye that Mike had given him. "Not cool, dude, not cool."_

* * *

As Bridgette crawled across the platform, coughing as though she was about to hack up a lung, Anne Maria dropped her can of hairspray, having just witnessed Mike punch Geoff right in the face. "Oh my!"

Once she'd caught her breath, Bridgette got to her feet once more and moved to stand beside teammate Mike. Putting a hand on his shoulder, she offered him a determined smile. "Come on, we've totally got this."

Mike shook off her hand. "Ey-oh, Pasty, if you wanna touch the Vito, you betta make an appointment."

While Bridgette looked both shocked and appalled by Mike's abnormal behaviour, Anne Maria was impressed. "Now that's what I'm talkin' 'bout!"

"Mike?" Bridgette asked as she stepped between Anne Maria and 'Vito', snapping her fingers in front of her teammate's face. She wasn't sure how to deal with him when another of his personalities took over.

"Get outta my face, blondie." Mike said, shoving Bridgette to the side with such force that she went over the side of the platform with a splash.

"MIKE?!" Courtney shrieked, enraged. "You're supposed to knock off the OTHER TEAM!"

"Ey-oh, you gonna jump in on your own or is Vito gonna have to make you get wet?" Mike asked, nodding at Anne Maria with a smirk on his face.

Anne Maria put her hands on her hips and raised an eyebrow at Mike, and trying hard not to swoon when he winked at her. "Classy girls like me ain't that easy you know. You gotta work for it if you want a piece of this."

"Don't say I didn't warn you, gorgeous." Mike said with a shrug before giving Anne Maria a hard shove, not expecting the tanned girl to grab his wrist and swing him around, tossing him into the water instead.

"Nothing personal, Vito baby!" Anne Maria said, holding up her hand in a victory pose.

* * *

After the display on the platform, Trent glanced at his best friend, sitting beside him at the end of their team's longboat and raised an eyebrow at her. "Is it just me, or was Mike a whole lot nicer yesterday?"

Zoey nodded. "Yeah, and he's starting to seem like a real player. I mean – he's been practically drooling over Gwen for the past three days, and now he's flirting with Anne Maria!"

"I know you were upset because of the whole thing, but I think that you just got a lucky break. He seems like trouble." Trent said with a nod, and after a moment, Zoey nodded in agreement.

"Don't worry, I'm over him." Zoey said with a sigh that didn't convince her musician friend. "Really. There are plenty of great guys out there."

"Probably even here on the island." Trent said with a shrug. "We'll find you someone, don't worry."

"You make it sound as though I'm desperate." Zoey said in a tone that sounded almost amused before she sighed and leaned forward, resting her face in her hands. "Maybe I am. I'm just a sad, lonely, pathetic girl who's desperate for any guy who'll take her."

"Hey now, that's not true. You're not pathetic. And I'm your friend, so you're not allowed to be sad or lonely. You've just got a lot going on and you need to take your mind off it."

Zoey gave him a half smile. "You're a really sweet guy, Trent, Gwen's lucky to have you."

At this, Trent's face darkened and he fell silent for a moment before responding with in a hushed tone. "Yeah, I guess."

"Things not going so well?" the redhead asked with a frown.

"I don't know. I thought she was into me, but I have no idea what's going on with this whole Mike thing." Trent shrugged.

Zoey rested her head on Trent's shoulder. "Looks like both our love lives are pretty messed up right now."

"Looks like." Trent said with a frustrated sigh.

"It'll work out eventually." Zoey assured her friend, although she sounded as though who she was _really_ trying to convince was herself. " _Probably._ "

* * *

"Final round!" Chris announced with a wide grin. "Dakota and Jo! Courtney and Brick! LeShawna and . . . Harold!"

"YES!" Harold cheered, leaping to his feet and nearly tipping over the Bass team's longboat in the process.

"Careful stringbean!" LeShawna warned the boy as she sat down to wait for the boat to steady itself again. After a few moments, it was steady enough for the campers to make their way onto the platform for the next round.

Courtney was speaking to Brick in hushed tones, while the cadet just nodded in agreement as their longboat pulled up to the platform. Brick got out first, then offered a hand to Courtney to help her onto the platform.

"Thank you, Brick! You're such a gentleman!" Courtney said with a smile.

"Glad to have been of service, ma'am." Brick said, giving her a salute before moving to take his position on the platform.

Once Chris blew the whistle, Harold charged forward, karate-chopping the air in front of him, pausing near the middle of the mat to add in a few karate kicks. While Harold had paused, Courtney and Brick had laid claim to the true middle of the platform and were standing back-to-back, ready to engage any enemy that tried to attack them.

Dakota didn't seem very interested in the challenge at all, and was just standing in one place, focusing on her phone and only her phone. Jo took one look at her teammate, rolled her eyes and made her way forward to challenge her rivals.

"Just what _are_ you doing, white boy?" LeShawna asked Harold, raising an eyebrow as the dork karate chopped the air once more.

"I'm showing off my mad skillz!" Harold answered. "Gotta impress the ladies!"

"If you wanna impress the ladies, hows about you try and help me win this thing so that we don't have to send anyone else home tonight?" LeShawna said.

Harold paused a moment, before his hands fell to his side and he nodded. "Okay."

"If both of us can stay on the platform, we'll get two points, then it'll be a three-way tie and we'll have to do a tiebreaker."

Courtney linked both of her elbows with Brick's as they stood back-to-back in the middle of the platform. Courtney gave a determined look and lifted her legs up as Brick swung her around so she could deliver a double flying kick to Jo, who was on the attack.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _See, this is why I like Brick. He respects authority and follows orders! He's probably one of the nicest people I've met here." Courtney said before she paused to wring out her hair. "Not like some of the other idiots I've met. I could even see us going to the final two together."_

* * *

Unfortunately, neither Brick nor Courtney were expecting Jo to grab onto Courtney's legs, and give them a good tug, off-balancing Brick and causing him to fall backwards.

"Too easy, maggot!" Jo taunted, pulling Courtney's legs to tow the brunette closer to the edge of the platform, and bringing a still-linked Brick along as a bonus. As Jo dragged Courtney to the edge and pushed her over the side, the brunette tried to let go of her teammate.

"Brick, you have to win this without me!" Courtney said, releasing the cadet, but he turned and grabbed her wrist as she clung to the side of the foam platform.

"With all due respect, ma'am, I was taught never to leave a man behind." Brick said.

"Oh good, that makes things much easier." Jo said as she reached down and grabbed hold of Brick's other arm, intending to shove him in as well. Unfortunately for Jo, her plan went awry when the entire platform shook and both Jo and Brick ended up joining Courtney in the water. Nearby, Dakota stumbled off the edge just as she began posing for pictures for the paparazzi who had just arrived on the scene, thanks to her invite.

LeShawna and Harold had jumped, landing in unison in the centre of the foam platform, using their combined weight to make a wave underneath the platform and shake off their opponents.

"Score one for us, baby!" LeShawna said, turning to Harold and giving him a high five.

Chris frowned. "That was kind of anti-climactic, and now we have a three-way tie."

* * *

**Confessional**

" _You know, I never noticed it before, but LeShawna is pretty hot. Maybe even hotter than Sadie!" Harold told the confessional camera._

* * *

"This one should be fun!" Chris announced. "LeShawna and Tyler versus Sadie and Scott versus Noah and Dawn!"

"Words cannot fully express my joy." Noah deadpanned. "I'm so lucky - the gods must be smiling down upon me today."

"YEAH!" Tyler cheered, jumping onto the platform. As was typical of Tyler, he landed on a puddle which caused him to slip and faceplant on the foam platform.

"For our tiebreaker, this is an instant death round! First team to lose both their members is sending someone home tonight! On your marks! Get set! Go!"

LeShawna tried to re-use her previous strategy, but this time her opponents were ready for her and all seemed to have the same idea – fall forward and crawl away from the edges. Her own teammate, Tyler, was the only one affected by LeShawna's jumping, and fell onto his back the first time she tried it.

Frowning that her 'foolproof' strategy had failed, LeShawna abandoned her attempts to off-balance her opponents and knelt on the mat so that she'd have a lower centre of gravity and therefore more stability when she took Sadie on.

"How's it going, fairy princess?" Scott sneered at the pale blonde, ready to pretend like he was going to engage her in battle.

Someone tapped Scott on the shoulder. "What? Are you afraid of taking on someone your own size?"

"Tyler is perfectly capable of taking himself out." Scott retorted.

"HEY!" Tyler cried out indignantly, charging over to engage Scott in battle, but tripping over his own feet in the process and falling off the platform instead.

Noah rolled his eyes before diving at Scott, attacking him in a manner which could only be described as flailing. Scott was able to hold him off easily, and snorted in derision at the other boy's manner of attack. "Where on earth did you learn to fight, kitten?"

Noah glanced over at Dawn with an annoyed look. "Are you going to watch or are you going to help me?"

"Sorry!" Dawn said, hurrying to join the kerfuffle between Noah and Scott.

Of course, Dawn was not violent unless absolutely necessary, and Scott had never given her any reason to use physical force on him, and so much to Noah's ire, Dawn's method of attack was _tickling_.

"You're _not_ serious!" Noah said with an annoyed groan as Dawn took to tickling his opponent. Even more to Noah's annoyance, as well as to his surprise, Dawn's method actually seemed to be pretty effective. Scott gave Noah a hard _accidental_ kick in the thigh when he fought his knees up to protect his ticklish tummy.

"Ugh, charlie horse!" Noah grunted as he fell to his side, clutching the part of his leg that Scott had kicked. He glared at the ginger-haired redneck as he tried to roll away from his attacker and fell off the side of the platform.

Dawn returned to her teammates side and knelt down next to him. "Are you alright?"

"Do I look alright to you?" Noah snapped, rolling his eyes.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Noah and Dawn beat Scott. Noah. Dawn. Beat. Scott" Courtney told the confessional, absolutely fuming. She paused a moment to take a deep breath. "They beat him way too easily, it was almost like-" Courtney's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "It was almost like he let them win. It seems I might need to keep a closer eye on my teammates."_

* * *

Meanwhile, Harold was staring in awe as Sadie and LeShawna engaged in the most epic battle he'd ever seen, and he couldn't take his eyes off of them, not even to blink. It was glorious and he couldn't help imagining a situation in which the fight was not caused by a challenge, but because they both wanted to date him.

And in his little fantasy world, they were both dressed up as Princess Leia.

He could have watched them fight forever and he'd never have grown bored of it, but alas, it was not fated to last all of eternity and as soon as LeShawna managed to push Sadie off of her, she used her feet to push her opponent over the edge of the platform.

"Now _that_ was the kind of match I was hoping for! That'll get high ratings for sure!" Chris said in a tone of pure glee. "Gophers win today's challenge for having the most campers still standing at the end of the match, and with both players out, the Bears are on the chopping block tonight! Sadie and Lightning have immunity from tonight's elimination because they were the last campers standing in the rounds that they won! I'll see you losers tonight!"

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Some religions and cultures believe that everything happens for a reason." Harold informed the confessional camera as he pushed his glasses higher up on his nose. "For example, LeShawna winning today's battle against Sadie could be a sign that LeShawna is better for me than Sadie." Harold paused a moment to consider this option. "And who am I to ignore the fates' design?"_

* * *

"Awww, he's so cute." Zoey swooned, her hands clasped in front of her chest as she observed Bunny resting contentedly in DJ's arms. "Can I pet him?"

"Sure." DJ nodded, and the redhead stepped closer to gently stroke the little grey rabbit between the ears.

"He's really lucky to have you to look after him."

"Thanks." DJ said with a nod. "I'm going up to the dining hall to see if I can get a carrot for him – do you want to tag along?"

"Sure! I was going to go up there for supper soon anyway." Zoey nodded, falling into step beside the boy with the bunny.

When they reached the cafeteria, DJ pulled open the door with his free hand. "Ladies first."

"You're such a gentleman!" Zoey said with a smile as she stepped into the camp's cafeteria.

DJ only shrugged. "Mama taught me how to properly treat a lady, that's all."

"Oh, _there_ you are!" Beth lisped as she entered the dining hall and made her way over to DJ and Zoey. "I was started to worry that something had happened to Bunny!"

"Nah, he's all good. He's just making some new friends." DJ glanced from Beth to Zoey with a smile.

Beth nodded. "He's probably ready for his supper – c'mon, I saved him some of my vegetables!"

Zoey flashed a smile at Beth before glancing at DJ. "I'll catch you later?"

"Yeah, sounds good." DJ said with a nod before the three teens moved away to sit with their own teams.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Okay, so almost all the guys back home are gorgeous jerks. All the jocks race their cars down main street every Friday night, and they're all so full of themselves." Zoey told the confessional camera. "I thou_ _g_ _ht Mike was different, and maybe I was wrong about Mike, but_ _there are other cute guys that_ _actually_ _are nice. I mean,_ _Trent is a nice guy and he's attractive – but we're_ just _friends. And DJ is so sweet, gorgeous,_ _and what_ _a gentleman!_ _"_

* * *

"Welcome, Bears, to yet another elimination ceremony! You guys are here a lot, aren't you?" Chris said with a smirk, prompting Courtney to glance sideways at Scott. Chris held up the first marshmallow. "The first marshmallows of the night go to Lightning and Sadie, the only members of their team to win immunity in today's challenge!"

Sadie sighed with relief as she caught her marshmallow, glancing over at teammate Bridgette, who was glaring daggers at her. She was almost certain that if she hadn't managed to get immunity in today's challenge, Bridgette would have had the rest of the team vote her out.

"Sha-duh." Lightning said as he caught his marshmallow.

"Next person who's safe is . . . ." Chris began, pausing for dramatic effect as his eyes roved over the remaining contestants, who seemed to be collectively holding their breaths. "Scott."

Sadie sighed inwardly and rolled her eyes as the ginger-haired boy rose and moved to claim his marshmallow.

"Bridgette." The surfer sighed with relief as her name was called and she hurried to stand beside her 'boyfriend', Scott. Chris grabbed another marshmallow. "Courtney. Mike. And Izzy!"

"Boom! Boom!" Izzy said as she stood up and sprinted towards Chris to grab her marshmallow.

"Cameron and Brick, you're our bottom two tonight." Chris said. "One of you will receive a marshmallow while they other will have to leave the island _forever_ , and cannot return, _ever_."

"Yeah, that's implied by the definition of _forever_." Courtney commented under her breath, rolling her eyes at the host.

"And the final marshmallow of the night goes to. . ." Chris began, looking between the two contestants.

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

"Cameron."

"Oh thank goodness!" Cameron said with a sigh of relief as he ran to grab his marshmallow.

Courtney sighed and walked up to the cadet to salute him. "We'll miss having you on the team."

"I'll miss being on the team." Brick said with a nod, saluting the brunette in return.

* * *

**The Votes:**

" _If only Sadie weren't immune, we'd be able to rid ourselves of that bully and be done with it!" Bridgette said, clearly frustrated about being unable to vote for the camper of her choice. "But Scott thinks we should vote for Brick tonight, and I'm inclined to agree with him. Besides, Brick is the reason we lost the last round. If he'd just let Courtney go like she told him, he might have won and then we wouldn't be sending someone home tonight!"_

Static.

" _I think Scott is throwing challenges. I don't know why, but I'm going to find out. That is, I'm going to be keeping a much closer eye on him if he isn't eliminated tonight." Courtney said._

Static.

" _Sadie scares me, so if she didn't have immunity tonight, I'd be voting for her." Cameron confessed. "So I guess I'll be voting with Bridgette and Mike tonight – I vote for Brick."_

Static.

" _So my alliance has totally fallen apart." Sadie lamented. "I couldn't find Cam_ anywhere _when I wanted to talk to him about who we're going to vote for tonight. Either way, I'm voting for Scott – that jerk needs to go home already!"_

Static.

" _Lightning votes for Brick. What a sha-loser!" Lightning said._

Static.

" _Okay, so my initial plan to get Sadie eliminated has to be postponed. No matter, she'll be on her way home soon enough; she can't win immunity every time we lose a challenge." Scott said. "In the meantime, we need to get rid of Brick. We'll be fine without a strong player like Brick anyway."_

Static.

_Izzy was standing on her head in the confessional. "If I stand on my head, I can touch my eyeball with my tongue!" She announced, before attempting – and failing – to demonstrate said talent. "I tried to show Cameron my tongue-to-eyeball trick earlier but he screamed and ran away - it was really adorable! Izzy likes to chase!" Izzy fell forward, momentarily falling out of view of the camera. A second later, a head popped back up, and Izzy got close to the camera. "Oh, and I vote for Courtney! She yelled at me for chewing on one of her shoes this morning."_

Static.

" _I vote for Mike. That soldier was_ not _a team player in today's challenge!" Brick told the confessional camera. "And he has such poor sportsmanship, I mean – was it really necessary to punch Geoff in the face and push Bridgette off the platform because she was 'in his face'?"_

Static.

" _I vote for Brick." Mike said with a sigh. "It really sucks that we have to keep voting off really cool people."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eliminated so far:
> 
> 36th: Katie  
> 35th: Staci  
> 34th: Sierra  
> 33rd: Sam  
> 32nd: Eva  
> 31st: Owen  
> 30th: B  
> 29th: Lindsay & Ezekiel  
> 28th: Justin  
> 27th: Brick


	12. Entering the S'Morezone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Screaming Gophers: Dawn, Alejandro, Dakota, Anne Maria, Noah, Cody, Trent, Zoey, Jo  
> Killer Bass: Duncan, LeShawna, Geoff, Gwen, Heather, Harold, Beth, Tyler, DJ  
> Thrashing Bears: Sadie, Cameron, Courtney, Scott, Lightning, Izzy, Bridgette, Mike

"Last time on Total Drama Island, things got intense out on the water!" Chris announced. "The teams had a rather shocking realization when they found that there are both sharks and eels in Lake Wawanakwa! LeShawna's bossy attitude clashed with the Bass and nearly earned her a one-way ticket out of the competition! Mike hit on Anne Maria and a broken-hearted Zoey decided to move on to greener pastures. And Courtney was actually civil to Duncan for once. In the end, the three teams were forced to participate in an instant death tiebreaker round, in which LeShawna secured immunity for the Bass when she defeated Bears' member Sadie in the _biggest_ catfight we've ever seen on the show! Will the drama get even hotter on the island? Stay tuned to find out!"

_**Cue theme song.** _

The sun cast a warm, golden glow over the grounds at Camp Wawanakwa as it rose over the lake. The waves lapped at the sandy shores of the island, and combined with the songs of the island birds, it created a gentle melody. Some campers added to the melody by snoring while others contributed by simply breathing deeply in their sleep. The scene was serene, and seemed as though it ought to be on a postcard, with the soundtrack fit for use at a relaxing resort.

And then the tranquillity shattered.

"IZZY! COME BACK HERE! THAT'S NOT FUNNY!" Courtney's shrill tones hailed from the female side of Bears', but it reached all three cabins.

Seconds later, the Bears' cabin door flew open, and Izzy charged out on all fours, a sandal gripped firmly between her teeth. Courtney followed the redhead out, sprinting after her with one foot bare. And then sleepy teens spilled out onto the porches of all the cabins to watch the debacle between the brunette and the ginger.

Courtney feigned left, then dove right, but Izzy could move surprisingly – or unsurprisingly, considering the individual – fast on all fours, and was easily able to evade Courtney's attempt to apprehend her.

"GIVE ME MY SHOE! DROP IT!" Courtney commanded. Izzy paused to bare her teeth at Courtney, but the brunette was not easily dissuaded. A determined look set on her face, she dove at Izzy, tackling her. The two rolled on the ground for a moment, before Courtney managed to get the other girl in a headlock. "I SAID DROP IT!"

"And here, I thought you were into _me_ , Princess!" Duncan called to the brunette with a smirk on his face, seconds before Courtney's shoe – the one covered in Izzy's spit – was wrenched from the redhead's jaws and whipped across the campground to hit Duncan in the head.

Courtney smirked before getting to her feet. Her hands planted firmly on her hips, she rounded on the redhead. "WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM?!"

Izzy just laughed. "That was fun. We should do that again tomorrow."

Courtney's only reply was an eye twitch.

The redhead stood up, and glanced around, realizing that all eyes were on the two of them. "Oh, hey guys!"

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Why are all the girls on my team so scary?!" Cameron asked, looking very distressed. "Eva, Sadie, Izzy, Courtney – they all scare me!" He paused and his eyes went wide with horror. "Don't tell any of them that I said that!"_

* * *

Courtney made a sound that seemed to be a combination of a strangled cry of rage and a scoff, before storming back up the stairs of the Bears' cabin and slamming the door after she vanished inside.

The teens shrugged and some began to head back inside their cabins while others opted to head to the Mess Hall in their pyjamas. Unfortunately, Cameron made the wrong decision by following Mike down the steps towards the Mess Hall.

When Izzy caught sight of him, her green eyes lit up at the prospect of a new game, and she grinned. Getting down on all fours again, Izzy charged towards Cameron, who turned to glance her way, then screamed at the top of his lungs and ran in the other direction, pursued by Izzy.

* * *

"Good morning DJ!" Zoey said.

"Heya Zoey, how are you doing today?" DJ responded, flashing the girl a smile as she tucked a stray lock of cherry-red hair behind her ear.

"Where's Bunny?" she asked as she clasped her hands together behind her back.

"Beth's looking after him." the gentle giant replied, gesturing to the stout brunette with the furry grey creature cradled in her arms.

"That's cool." Zoey nodded eagerly in response.

"Yeah, she's been really great, looking after Bunny when I'm busy. It's nice to have the extra hands."

Zoey's brow furrowed for half a moment. "If you ever need me to, I'm totally up for watching Bunny. Seriously, any time."

"Thanks Zoey, that's really great of you."

"No problem! I'm happy to help!"

Just then, the sound of breathing from behind Zoey caught the duo's attention, and they turned to find Harold standing there, his hand raised as though he was about to tap Zoey on the shoulder.

"Hi Harold." the two teens greeted the geek in unison.

"I just wanted to remind DJ that his team actually needs him." Harold said, forcing a smile.

Zoey's eyes widened in surprise at Harold's comment, and she failed to notice DJ shoot her an apologetic look before he followed Harold back to meet up with their teammates.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Ouch." Zoey said._

Static.

" _That was not cool, man! What has Zoey ever done to you?" DJ asked the confessional camera._

Static.

" _I didn't want to say that to Zoey." Harold told to the confessional. "Heather made me. She told me that she would tell everyone that I am helping the other team with challenges and that they'd vote me out. I would never do something that mean by choice. GOSH! Heather is like a magnet near my moral compass. I want to do the honourable thing but I am under the control of a power greater than I."_

* * *

"Welcome to today's challenge!" Chris greeted the teens as he walked into the clearing, grinning his usual Chris smile and speaking with more than just his usual Chris enthusiasm. The teens couldn't help the sinking feeling that seeing Chris so chipper meant that the challenge that day would be positively brutal.

"Yippee." Noah said in his signature deadpan tone. "I can hardly contain my excitement."

"Today's challenge is a doozy!" Chris said with a gleeful look at the apprehensive teens around him. "Each team gets a crate of supplies. You guys have one hour to put together whatever is in your crate. You have to finish building before you move on to part two of today's challenge. Ready! Set! Go!"

The horde of teens divided into three groups at Chris's last word, and made their ways to the flagpole that had their team's mascot on it, which were each positioned next to a large wooden crate.

"Come on comrades! We must be victorious!" Alejandro said, turning to Anne Maria and Dakota offering a hand to each of them. "It would be a shame to have to send some of the most beautiful contestants home."

"Don't you know it, Al baby." Anne Maria practically purred, fluttering her thick black lashes at the Latino male.

Zoey only glanced at Alejandro and sighed.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _They trust so easily." Alejandro told the camera with a smirk on his handsome, chiseled face. "So malleable and manipulable; they're like putty in my hands."_

Static.

" _Is that all I am to my team?" Zoey asked, frowning. "Just a pretty face?" She paused for a second, before looking even more upset. "What if they don't even think I'm that?"_

* * *

Twenty minutes into the challenge, the teens were still standing around, although now it was around a collection of parts rather than a crate. They had supplies, but no idea what it was that they had to build with said supplies.

Courtney was making an inventory list of all the individual parts that had been in the Bears' crate and intended to look over the completed inventory and figure out from there what it was they needed to make. Meanwhile, most of the other contestants were studying the parts with bored expressions.

Gwen was holding two pieces of her team's supplies and was studying them with a thoughtful expression. Meanwhile, Bears' member Cameron picked up one of his team's pieces and regarded with a furrowed brow, pondering it.

"Cameron, I said I wanted to make an inventory of all our supplies first!" Courtney hissed, her hands planted on her hips as the bubble boy grabbed a second piece of wood.

Cameron froze. "But. . ."

"Yes?" Courtney asked, raising an eyebrow and tapping her pencil against her notepad impatiently as she waited for Cameron's response.

"I think I figured it out." He said in a small voice.

Courtney gave the bubble boy a look of mild irritation. "Well why didn't you just say so?"

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I did." Cameron said, looking completely dumbfounded._

* * *

Suddenly, Gwen's thoughtful frown vanished as the metaphorical lightbulb above her head lit up. She turned to her teammates and gave them a triumphant smile. "I got it!"

"What do you got, pasty?" Duncan asked, pausing a moment from carving something out of a chunk of wood to raise an eyebrow at the goth girl.

LeShawna shot Duncan a look that seemed to say she was annoyed by just the sound of his voice, then turned to Gwen. "What is it, homegirl?"

"I know what we have to build!" Gwen announced to her teammates, beckoning them closer into a team huddle. And then sounding uncharacteristically enthusiastic, she grinned. "We are _so_ going to win this thing!"

* * *

"Oh come on!" Jo complained, looking at her teammates with a look of contempt. Focusing on a single individual, she stormed up to Noah and jabbed a finger into his chest. "You. You're smart. Why haven't you figured this out yet?"

Noah looked at her with an unamused expression and spoke in his signature deadpan tone. "I may have an IQ of 158 but I'm neither an architect nor an artist, nor do I have any desire to be either one."

Jo glared at the bookworm before she glimpsed movement out of the corner of her eye. Turning her attention to the movement, she found the Killer Bass breaking up from a team huddle and getting to work, and the jockette groaned with ire. "We're in last place right now! The other teams have already got things figure out! Get with the program, Noah - you need to figure it out, right now."

Noah rolled his eyes but didn't flinch from Jo's growing anger. "Perhaps you ought to ask Doctor Dolittle to consult the stars and figure out our puzzle with her so-called _psychic powers._ " He jabbed a thumb in Dawn's direction, and Jo found the moonchild sitting on the ground nearby in a world of her own, a squirrel on her shoulder and a gopher curled up in her lap. "Or maybe she could just ask the gopher for its opinion."

"Urgh." If Jo's increasing irritation with her teammates wasn't apparent before, it was certainly apparent now. "Just remember that you _are_ expendable so figure it out!"

Noah rolled his eyes again as Jo turned on her heel and stormed away from him, heading straight for Zoey, who was sitting on a log and sulking, while a bewildered Trent tried to hold a conversation with the cherry-top chick.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Did I do something wrong?" Trent asked, running his hand through his raven hair in a confused and frustrated manner. "Zoey hasn't said two words to me since the challenge started! She was fine at breakfast and now not so much. Was it something I said?"_

* * *

"Hey lovebirds!" Jo snapped, her hands planted firmly on her hips as she shot a dirty look at Trent and Zoey.

"Who? Us?" Trent asked, looking even more puzzled by being called a lovebird by Jo than he was by Zoey's sudden sulky mood.

"Who does it look like I'm talking to?" Jo asked, tapping her foot impatiently. "Of course you two. Someone needs to figure out what we have to build with this stuff. Noah is being a pain because he can't figure it out – you two got any ideas?"

Zoey's face took on a determined expression and she stood up. "Don't worry. We'll figure this out."

Jo nodded her approval of the girl's enthusiasm to follow her command. "Well good. We need more people like you on this team." Her tone suggested it was less a compliment to Zoey than it was a jab at the rest of the team.

"You mean it?" Zoey asked, not catching the hidden message in Jo's words. She gave the blonde jockette a smile. "I won't let you down!"

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Once we figured out what the other two teams were building, building our part was a piece of cake!" Jo told the confessional camera._

* * *

"Congratulations Bass on winning the advantage to part two of the challenge!" Chris said to the campers as he began to lead the Killer Bass and Thrashing Bears out of the clearing. He paused a moment and shot a dirty look back at the Screaming Gophers. "Are you guys _still_ not finished?"

"You guys go ahead!" Zoey told her teammates. "I'll stay here and finish up!"

"I'll stay with Zoey and help." Trent said with a nod.

"You sure you want to do that?" Chris asked, a smirk on his face. "It could seriously affect how you do in the second part of the challenge."

Jo glanced around at her teammates with an unimpressed look.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Zoey, at least, is one of our most competent team members besides me. And Trent isn't completely terrible either." Jo said with a frown. "We need them if the next part of the challenge, but we also need to finish this part."_

* * *

"No, we really need you in this part of the challenge." Jo said, shaking her head. "Cody and Noah, you guys stay behind and finish this part of the challenge."

"Oh goody." Noah quipped sarcastically.

"You sure?" Zoey asked Jo, searching the blonde's face.

"Yeah. We need your athletic skills and Noah doesn't have any whatsoever, so we need you with us."

Zoey nodded in agreement, and Chris lead the three teams, minus Cody and Noah, to part two of the day's challenge.

* * *

"Welcome to part two of today's challenge!" Chris greeted the teens enthusiastically as the crowd of teens reached the sandy expanse of beach by the Dock of Shame. "This is going to be a fun one!"

"Oh goody." Gwen said in her usual monotone voice, rolling her eyes.

"Glad to see you're excited!" Chris said with a grin. "As you can see, there are three buoys in the lake, one in each team's colour. For this part of the challenge, you must swim out to those buoys. On the bottom of the lake under those buoys are crates filled with supplies that will help you in the next part of the challenge. The more supplies you can gather for your team, the better off your team will be in part three of today's challenge!"

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Oh great,_ another _water challenge." Scott said unenthusiastically._

* * *

"You have fifteen minutes to get as many crates of supplies as you can. Only one member of each team can go at a time." Chris said. "So, who's up first?"

"Sha-Lightning!" the athlete cried out, standing up and striking a football-throwing pose.

"I can go first!" Zoey volunteered to her teammates, looking to Jo for approval, who nodded.

"To the EXTREME!" Tyler shouted, making as though to leap forward to tripping over his own feet and falling flat on his face.

"Hey Tyler, maybe you should sit this one out." Heather said, putting on a thinly veiled false smile.

The clumsy jock frowned in disappointment, but nodded. "Okay."

"Geoff, you should go first." Heather said, turning to the party boy.

"Alright, brah." Geoff said with a nod.

"Everybody ready?" Chris asked, looking at the three teens, who each nodded in agreement. With a grin, Chris turned to face the Dock of Shame, where Chef stood in a blue polka dotted string bikini with a checkered flag. "See that white line by the dock? That's the starting line. Go stand there and wait until we give the signal that the timer has begun."

Zoey, Lightning and Geoff went to stand at the thick white line that had been painted on the sand by the first boards of the Dock, and got into position like they were about to run a race.

"Ready! Set! Go!" Chris announced as Chef began waving the checkered flag. The three teens sprinted to the water's edge, and right out of the gate, Lightning was in first place.

"Sha-Lightning!" The athlete exclaimed as he reached the edge of the dock and dove into the water with a tremendous splash. Within a second, both Zoey and Geoff followed him, swimming to the marked buoys as fast as they could.

Lightning, being the most athletic of the three and having half a second lead, reached his team's buoy first, and dove to the bottom of the lake.

* * *

"If we lose today, we all know who we're voting for, right?" Bridgette asked her alliance members, looking at each of their faces for confirmation.

"Sadie?" Mike ventured, looking a bit hesitant.

"You got it." Bridgette said with a nod as she wrapped her arms around Scott's torso. "She's not a team player – you all saw what she did to my poor Scotty." Bridgette said, running her fingers through Scott's ginger hair. "Besides, she's just deadweight around here anyway."

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Did they not realize that I could totally hear them or something? Because that was super mean of them and Scott totally had that coming to him!" Sadie ranted to the confessional, looking rather ticked off. Then, her face softened and she began to look rather sad. "But I don't want to get voted off this early. I have to win! For Katie and Eva and B! I have to fix this somehow."_

* * *

Lightning was the first one to reach a crate, and lifted it easily from the lake bottom. But the water-logged crate was far heavier than he expected, and he found himself struggling with it almost immediately. The other two contestants weren't faring particularly well either, and all three had to surface for air again before they were able to pull their crates up onto the docks.

"Took you long enough!" Jo snapped as Zoey dragged her crate across the finish line and practically collapsing as she tagged Jo as the next runner in the relay.

As she sprinted to the end of the dock to catch up with LeShawna and Mike, the Bass' and the Bears' next competitors, respectively, Trent came to Zoey's side.

"You okay, Zo?"

"Yeah, fine." Zoey said with a nod as she wrung out her ponytails, then stood up. With a deep breath, Zoey pulled her crate to a spot out of the way and sat on it. "I wonder what's in these things that makes them so heavy."

"Next!" Jo called out as she passed the white line, and Trent flashed Zoey a smile before he sprinted to the end of the dock.

Everyone's attention was drawn to the waters when a hysterical scream pierced the air. "SHARK!"

"Oh good, it's about time they arrived." Chris said with a satisfied smirk as he watched the events from a nearby lifeguard tower.

The brickhouse DJ and the nice girl's friend Sadie were huddled together in the water, while a lone grey dorsal fin protruded from the water's surface.

"Where's Trent?" Zoey asked, on her feet again and sprinting to the shoreline in seconds.

"If you jump into the water, your team will be disqualified." Chef warned the girl.

"DJ! Sadie! Where's Trent?" Zoey called to the frightened duo from the shore, pacing up and down the water's edge and trying to spot her dark-haired friend.

"How tragic!" Dakota said dramatically, doing a series of shocked and damsel-in-distress poses as the recently-arrived paparazzi snapped pictures of her in her bikini.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I was so freaked out! Trent is like my best friend here at camp!" Zoey said to the confessional camera, looking stressed and upset. "I don't know what I would do without him!"_

* * *

Just then, Trent's head broke the surface of the lake.

"Thank goodness, he's alright!" Zoey exclaimed, breathing a sigh of relief.

Trent moved to swim towards the shore when the grey dorsal fin passed between him and his two rivals. His green eyes went really wide, and he halted immediately.

"Umm. . . guys, is that what I think it is?" Trent asked.

"SHAAAAAAARK!" DJ screamed in terror, fleeing the water and sprinting up onto the shore. Sadie shore a panicked glance at the shore, and made to follow DJ's lead, but then halted.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _You know what? I'm not done with this game yet." Sadie said with a determined grin._

* * *

Shooting a huge smile at her team, Sadie turned on her heel and dove deeper into the lake, intent on getting one of the crates for her team.

"What is she _doing_?!" Bridgette asked, concerned, as all the members of the Thrashing Bears team stared at the part of the lake where their teammate had vanished. "Is she crazy?!"

"Well I guess it saves us from having to vote her off later." Scott said with a shrug.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _The way I see it, it's better for the team if the sharks do eat her." Scott said. "Then they'll be full by the time I have to go swimming and then they'll leave me alone."_

Static.

" _Okay, I may not like Sadie but that doesn't mean I want her to get eaten by a shark!" Bridgette said, her green eyes wide with distress._

* * *

Trent, figuring that the sudden absence of Sadie and the grey dorsal fins meant that the sharks were chasing the chubby girl, hurried to the shore with his crate.

Reaching the shore closest to Dakota, Trent tagged her as next in the relay. But Dakota was too busy posing for the paparazzi in the golf cart to notice she'd been tagged.

On Chris's command, Chef walked up to the golf cart, unnoticed by the paparazzi and Dakota, and stuck a bomb to the side of it. Getting clear of the explosive's range, Chris used a remote control to blow Dakota's photographers sky high, just as Dakota began giving the cameramen looks of surprise and relief that her teammate Trent had returned safely.

Covering her head with her hands lest there be falling shrapnel, Dakota cried out. "Take it easy!"

"Blondie! Hurry up!" Jo snapped when she realized that Dakota had not yet moved from where she'd been posing for pictures.

"What?" Dakota asked, her brows furrowing at the command.

"It's your turn!" Jo barked, putting her hands on her hips. "So get a move on!"

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Ah, Jo, my sweet. You certainly would not make a good diplomat with your bullheadedness and your temper." Alejandro said, looking almost amused. "You'll win more allies with honey than you will vinegar." Sitting back, Alejandro began to look almost smug. "You know, I could just sit back and let her get herself eliminated. I don't have to do anything, really."_

* * *

"I'm not going in there!" Dakota replied, planting her own hands on her hips. "Hello! There are _sharks_ in there!"

"Sharks or not, we need to win this challenge!" Jo retorted. "And you got tagged, so get going!"

And with a dark look, she gave Dakota a hard shove across the white line. "Hey, take it easy!" Dakota cried out as she stumbled towards the end of the dock in her pink bikini.

Then, Jo rounded on the dark haired musician. "You just _HAD_ to tag her, didn't you?"

* * *

Sadie swam as fast as she could to the bottom of the lake, a determined look on her face. She'd prove her worth to her team. She'd do this if it killed her – which it just might. If she didn't do something drastic, she'd be eliminated for sure. As it was, she wasn't even sure that this would do it, but it was worth a shot.

Besides, sharks didn't scare her _that_ much. They were only giant, crazy man-eating fish, right? Nothing to be truly terrified of.

Or so she kept telling herself as she swam for her life to the nearest crate.

Grabbing hold of the handle, she turned and found herself face-to-face with a shark. Sadie opened her mouth to scream, but shut it quickly and clamped her free hand over it within a second. But in that half second, she'd lost too much air. Or at least, more air than she should have lost.

Grabbing hold of the crate with both hands, she pushed off from the lake bottom and swam towards the surface as fast as she could.

The crate was heavy and she had to fight to lift it from the silt. Her lungs starting to burn with the lack of oxygen, Sadie struggled, finally getting the crate free from the sand and accidentally hitting the shark in the face with it.

Unfortunately, she lost her grip on it when it came in contact with the shark, and as Sadie burst through the water's surface, her chest heaving as she desperately drew in the breath she'd been deprived of while she'd been underwater, the crate sunk back down to settle on the lakebottom once more.

"Go on Dakota! Get the crate!" Jo's voice commanded the blonde clinging to the end of the dock, while Sadie gasped for breath.

Sadie considered diving down again to fetch the crate, but when something slimy brushed by her leg and sent an electric shock through her body, she changed her mind in a hurry. Momentarily paralysed by the eel's shock, Sadie didn't even have time to catch her breath before she began to sink under the water.

As soon as the eel broke contact, Sadie desperately swam towards the shore.

Dakota, viewing Sadie's abandoned attempt as a free pass, clambered up onto the dock and sprinted across the finish line.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Ooooh, Jo is so lucky I didn't get my hair wet!" Dakota said._

* * *

A lone grey dorsal fin piercing the water's surface only a few feet behind the girl, several teens began screaming at her to hurry up, but her lungs were starting to burn from the exertion.

Finally reaching the dock, Sadie scrambled up onto the dock on all fours, before flopping onto her side not a moment too soon. The part of the dock where she'd been not half a second before was consumed by a huge pair of shark jaws.

Still gasping for breath, Sadie's eyes grew wide and she got to her feet and sprinted past the finish line in a hurry.

"Are you crazy?!" Bridgette exclaimed in shock as her teammate came within earshot and came to a stop.

"That was like . . . awesome." Harold commented, regarding Sadie with wide eyes, just as the rest of the campers were.

"And that's fifteen minutes!" Chris called to the teens, evoking a unified sigh of relief from the teens. But Chris looked rather disappointed that they were ending that part of the challenge so soon. "Things were _just_ starting to get interesting too!"

* * *

"Can't you guys carry these things any faster?!" Jo barked, clearly growing anxious with their slow pace.

"Hey, look at it this way – we're slower because our team has one more crate than the other teams!" Zoey said optimistically, but Jo only rolled her eyes in irritation and muttered something inaudible about everyone's lack of competitive spirit.

As they reached the clearing, they found that Cody and Noah had been able to finish building their team's fort. In the very least, it gave Jo one less reason to be irritated by her team.

Chris walked to the middle of the clearing and waited for the teens to give him all their attention. Once he had it, he grinned. "For the next part of the challenge, you will find a slingshot and a variety of projectiles in each of the crates you were able to rescue. The first team whose fort gets destroyed will be sending another one of their own home tonight!"

An intern hurried to each team with a crowbar and opened their crates for them as Chris made his way out of the war zone.

Turning back to the three teams with a smug grin, he called out to them. "You may begin!"

The teens scrambled to their crates and within a few seconds, the slingshots were being set up.

Cody leaned over one of the crates and reached in to retrieve some of the projectiles, and his blue eyes grew wide with longing. His jaw agape, he stared in wonder at the contents of the crate. "Whoaaaaaa."

"MARSHMALLOWS?!" Jo cried out angrily as she produced a bag of the fluffy white treats from the crate. "WHAT KIND OF PROJECTILES ARE MARSHMALLOWS?!"

"Not very dynamic ones, if you ask me." Noah quipped in his signature deadpan tone, earning a dirty look from Jo.

"It's glorious." Cody said in a half-whisper, pulling out a very large bar of chocolate from the crate.

"Look here, we have some graham crackers too." Zoey said, holding up a box of the aforementioned crackers. "Do you think we're supposed to make s'mores?"

"My dear Zoey, I think that's _exactly_ what we have to do." Alejandro said, taking the redhead's free hand and gently kissing the back of it. "How very clever of you to have figured that out."

* * *

**Confessional**

_Zoey's cheeks were so flushed they were nearly as red as her hair. "Alejandro's just so . . . so . . ." She pauses to think of a word. Then, with a longing sigh, she finally chooses the right one. "Dreamy."_

* * *

Heather's eyes narrowed at the sight of something undesirable – Alejandro kissing the hand of his cherry-top teammate. Casting a dark look at the male she most definitely did not like, nor would she ever like, turned away from glaring at Alejandro to look at teammate Duncan.

Walking her index and middle finger up his arm in the most seductive manner, Heather leaned closer to Duncan. Her voice practically a purr, she spoke. "Oh Duncan, you're so strong and muscular. I'm glad we have you on our team to protect us."

Gwen cast a dirty look at the duo, before tearing open the bag of marshmallows.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _As if I'd ever actually go for juvie trash like Duncan." Heather said, rolling her eyes in annoyance. "But boys are_ so _easy to manipulate, it's almost not fun. Almost."_

* * *

"ROAAAAAAAR!" Izzy bellowed, suddenly jumping out from behind one of the Bears' crates.

Cameron shrieked in terror, and stumbled backwards, tripping over a rock and falling onto his back. His chest heaving for the breath that had been knocked out of him when his body had hit the ground, Cameron placed a hand over his racing heart.

"Izzy, please don't do that!" Cameron pleaded, his dark eyes wide behind his thick glasses.

"But it's so cute when you scream for your mommy!" Izzy said with a grin, before walking away with an extra bounce in her step.

Cameron flopped backwards and closed his eyes. "Someone please kill me now."

"Cameron, what are you doing?!" Courtney demanded, her hands on her hips as she glared at the bubble boy. "We need everyone's help!"

Nodding sheepishly, Cameron scrambled to his feet. "What do you want me to do?"

* * *

"We've got matches too!" Zoey said with a grin, victoriously holding up a sandwich bag with a box of matches inside it. "Now we can build a fire to make real graham crackers!"

"Well what are you waiting for?" Jo snapped, casting a dark look at her cherry-haired teammate. The indie chick gave the blonde a sheepish grin and ducked her head in embarrassment as she started working on starting a fire.

Soon, three trails of smoke wound their way up to the sky, one from each of the forts.

And then, within about a minute later, the first shot was fired. The Killer Bass, who had not only a whole book of matches, but Duncan's lighter as well, had been able to start a larger fire faster and were the first to fire a shot.

"Incoming!" Dawn cried out, half a second before there was a loud _SPLAT!_ as the first s'more hit the side of their fort, followed only a moment later by the distant splat of the s'more that had been fired at the Thrashing Bears.

"Return fire!" Jo commanded, peeking over the top of the fort for a mere moment, ducking just time as a s'more sailed over the top of the fort where Jo had just been, and hit a tree behind the team with another _splat!_

* * *

Within a matter of moments, the air was filled with the scent of burnt marshmallows and melted chocolate. Sticky brown and white goo was clumped on trees, all three forts as well as a handful of the contestants, with broken cracker pieces and crumbs scattered across the clearing floor and protruding from the marshmallow-and-chocolate clumps.

"Hey! Take it easy!" Dakota shrieked as she had a very close call with a rogue s'more.

* * *

"Flaming s'mores!" Cameron cried out in panic as a small brown-and-white ball of sugar and fire soared through the air towards their team's fort.

"Woohoooo!" Izzy cried in excitement, climbing up onto one of the fort's supports to see the incoming fireball.

"That's not fair!" Courtney cried out, narrowing her eyes as the fireball splatted against some of the other s'mores that were clumped on the fort and ignited them.

"Quick! Start setting ours on fire too!" Sadie cried out, about to run towards the fire to create another s'more, but a hand clamped around her arm. Whirling around to face the person who had caught her arm, Sadie found herself face-to-face with the guy she'd beaten up only a few challenges prior. Narrowing her eyes, Sadie spoke. "What do you want?"

"To make a deal." Was Scott's reply.

Without a word, Sadie let Scott lead her to the back of the war effort, her eyes still narrowed in suspicion.

"You're being voted off next. You know that, right?" Scott said almost smugly, turning his back to the raven-haired girl and looking at one of the fort's supports.

"Are you trying to rub it in?" Sadie asked, planting her hands on her hips and giving Scott an irritated look.

"I can save you from being eliminated."

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Change of plans. Sharkbait might actually be useful to me." Scott said as he whittled._

* * *

Sadie regarded him with a suspicious look, before crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't have a choice, do I?"

Scott turned back to face her and smirked. "No, not really."

"What do you want me to do?" Sadie asked, rolling her eyes.

"You have to do everything I tell you." Scott said, focusing on the girl. " _Everything_."

"How do I know you won't betray me?"

"I'll convince Bridgette to let you into the alliance, then you'll know who we're voting for." Scott said. "Then you'll be safe. But if you ever disobey me – Bridgette will have you eliminated. Do we have a deal?"

Scott held out his hand for a handshake. Sadie gave him a dark look, but nodded.

"Deal."

* * *

Reaching into the crate to retrieve another bag of marshmallows for the s'mores projectiles, Jo found the crate in an infuriating state.

 _Empty_.

"How?!" Jo snapped, glaring into the crate. "We can _not_ be out already!"

* * *

**Confessional**

" _So . . ." Cody began, looking sheepish. "I may have a slight sweet tooth."_

* * *

Whirling to face her teammates, Jo found her target, the one with chocolate smeared on his fingers and around his mouth – Cody. Grabbing him by the front of the shirt, the jock-ette picked up the geek.

"YOU ATE ALL OUR AMMO?!"

Cody only covered his face with his hands in fear, afraid that Jo was about to change the current arrangement of his face.

"Hey! Take it easy!" Dakota told Jo, posing with a hand on her hip as her paparazzi snapped pictures. Then she glanced at the photographers, lowering her designer sunglasses to regard them all. "Is _that_ enough attitude?"

Before Jo could act upon her anger, there was a loud crack that split the air, and within a few seconds, a tree fell and crushed both Dakota's paparazzi and the Screaming Gopher's fort.

Seconds later, Chef walked away from the crime scene with a chainsaw.

"And the Screaming Gophers have been eliminated!" Chris announced to the three teams, evoking victorious cheers from the Killer Bass and the Thrashing Bears.

Jo rounded on the blonde princess. Her teammates looked almost as irritated as the blonde jockette was as she pointed the finger at Dakota. "This is all your fault, Princess Poser! You and your stupid photographers!"

* * *

"One down, one to go!" Courtney said, a determined look on her freckled face. "Focus all efforts on the Bass fort! Let's bring it down!"

"Hey guys! Watch this!" Izzy said with a cackle before she sprinted out from behind the Bears' fort with a light brown ball in her hands.

"Izzy, what are you doing?!" Courtney called, alarmed by her teammate's actions.

"Bye-bye fishies!" Izzy called, and with a wide grin, she tossed the brown ball at one of the flaming clumps of s'mores on the Killer Bass's fort.

_BOOM!_

The force of the explosion completely obliterated the Bass's fort, knocking all the Killer Bass members, as well as Izzy, to the ground. Soot covered the front of Izzy's body, while the Killer Bass seemed to have escaped that much, although their fort was destroyed.

"And in an explosive turn of events, the Bass have been eliminated!" Chris narrated, chuckling at the shocked expressions of the Killer Bass members. "Gophers, I'll see you at the campfire ceremony tonight!"

* * *

"What?!" Bridgette asked, appalled. "But she – she -"

"She has agreed to do everything we tell her." Scott said.

"How do we even know she was telling the truth?" Bridgette asked, narrowing her eyes.

"She's willing to do whatever it takes to stay in the game." Scott said.

"But she hit you!"

"Well, think of this as an opportunity to get revenge on her for that."

* * *

**Confessional**

_Bridgette looked very reluctant. "I don't want revenge! I just wanted her eliminated because of what she did, but that's not really revenge – right?" Bridgette looked doubtful for a moment before taking a deep breath, and offering a smile. "But, I suppose if Scott can find it in his heart to forgive her for punching him, so can I."_

* * *

"Hey DJ!" Zoey said with a smile, self-consciously touching the flower in her hair to make sure it was still in the right place.

"Heya Zoey." DJ said with a smile, holding Bunny in his arms. "Great job today. It was a close one."

"Yeah, you too." The redhead responded with a smile.

"Oh, hey, you've got a bit of marshmallow on your cheek." DJ said, reaching over to get it with his free hand. Pausing, he glanced at the girl's face. "Mind if I-?"

"Oh no, go ahead!" Zoey said, her cheeks flushing slightly as the brickhouse's thumb gently removed the marshmallow piece. "Thanks."

"No problem Zoey." DJ said, returning her smile as the redhead reached over to pet the grey furry bundle in DJ's arms.

After a long pause in their conversation, Zoey frowned. "I should probably get to the elimination ceremony."

"Sucks that your team lost." DJ commented. "I hope you don't get eliminated."

"Me too!" Zoey said with a smile. "I think I should be safe – tonight, at least."

"Well, good luck anyway!" DJ said before the two went their separate ways.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Zoey's a sweet girl." DJ said with a nod. "Says a lot about a person when they volunteer to look after someone else's bunny."_

* * *

"But. . . I thought . . ." Mike said softly to himself as he witnessed the exchange between Zoey and DJ.

"What's up, _buddy_?" Scott asked, coming to stand beside the brunette male.

"Oh hey Scott." Mike said, running his hand through his hair as though lost in thought. Then, turning to his ginger-haired teammate, she spoke. "Do Zoey and DJ look kind of flirty to you?"

Scott glanced at the duo before shrugging. "Yeah, I s'pose."

"But I thought Zoey was was with Trent." Mike said, more to himself than to his teammate.

"Who told you that?" Scott asked, before quickly adding. "Just curious."

"Bridgette." Mike said. "Maybe she got her facts mixed up."

" _Yeah,_ I'm sure that's _exactly_ what happened." Scott said, agreeing too quickly.

Mike regarded him suspiciously. "What do you know that I don't?"

"Well even if Bridgette did know the truth, I'm sure she did what she did with noble intentions." Scott said in a low voice.

"What?" Mike asked, frowning. "What do you mean?"

"Well, she was probably just trying to protect the alliance. If she did know the truth, that is." Scott said with a shrug. "But I don't know if she knew or not though."

* * *

**Confessional**

_Mike looked distressed. "Did Bridgette lie to me on purpose?"_

Static.

" _Too easy." Scott said with a smirk._

* * *

"You've all cast your votes." Chris began, looking at the teens assembled before him. Picking up the first marshmallow off the plate in front of him, he regarded it as though it was something very important. "Tonight, marshmallows go to. . ."

"Dawn, Alejandro, Noah and Trent." Chris tossed a marshmallow to each of the named contestants.

"Score!" Trent said softly, giving Zoey a high-five as he passed her.

"Jo." Chris said, tossing one of the marshmallows to the jockette. Then to two other female Gophers. "Anne Maria and Zoey."

"What?" Dakota asked, realizing that she and Cody were the bottom two.

"This is the final marshmallow of the night." Chris said in an overly dramatic tone. "Who will receive the final token of safety? And who will be sent home on the Boat of Losers? Will it be you, Cody, who ate most of your team's ammo? Or will it be you, Dakota, who spent most of the time posing for pictures instead of actually helping your team?"

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

"Cody." Chris said, finally ending the tension and tossing the last marshmallow to the geek. "Dakota, you are out of the contest."

Dakota stood up, her nostrils flaring angrily. "What? No! I can't be out already! I haven't even got my own spin-off series yet!"

Cody sighed sadly. "I guess this is goodbye then, Dakota."

"You're still, like, my knight in shiny armour for fixing my phone." Dakota said, quickly kissing Cody on the cheek before Chef grabbed her by the arm and began to drag her towards the dock of shame. "Hey! Take it easy!"

Cody remained sitting seated on his stump, his hand on his cheek where Dakota had kissed him, as the rest of the team made their way back to their cabins.

Chris just grinned at all the drama. "Who will get the boot next time, on Total Drama Island?"

* * *

**The Votes:**

" _Stupid Princess Poser and her stupid paparazzi." Jo said, glaring at the confessional camera. "I vote for Dakota."_

Static.

" _Okay, it is kind of Dakota's fault we lost." Zoey said. "So I vote for her."_

Static.

" _Sorry Dakota, but it's your fault we're here again tonight." Trent said, running a hand through his dark hair._

Static.

" _Jo is so totally going to get it!" Dakota declared. "She's just lucky I didn't get my hair wet when she tried to throw me into shark-infested waters!"_

Static.

" _If only I hadn't eaten all our ammo . . ." Cody began. "It was totally worth it, but I vote for myself anyway."_

Static.

" _I'd like Alejandro to be eliminated already, but tonight I'm going to have to vote for Dakota." Noah said._

Static.

" _It's probably for the best that we vote Dakota off now. I sense a terrible fate will befall her if she remains on the island." Dawn said._

Static.

" _Jo did a lovely job getting on everyone's nerves today, but alas, Dakota managed to out-do her and lose us the challenge, so surely everyone will be voting for her tonight." Alejandro said._

Static.

" _The attention-seeking princess has gotta go." Anne Maria said, spraying more hairspray onto her pouf. "It's all her fault we lost today!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eliminated so far:
> 
> 37th: Katie  
> 36th: Staci  
> 35th: Sierra  
> 34th: Sam  
> 33rd: Eva  
> 32nd: Owen  
> 31st: B  
> 30th/29th: Lindsay & Ezekiel  
> 28th: Justin  
> 27th: Brick  
> 26th: Dakota


	13. Up the Creek

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Screaming Gophers: Dawn, Alejandro, Anne Maria, Noah, Cody, Trent, Zoey, Jo
> 
> Killer Bass: Duncan, LeShawna, Geoff, Gwen, Heather, Harold, Beth, Tyler, DJ
> 
> Thrashing Bears: Sadie, Cameron, Courtney, Scott, Lightning, Izzy, Bridgette, Mike

"Last time on Total Drama Island, our competitors participated in a food fight of epic proportions. Heather proved a negative influence on Harold when she had him insult Zoey, seriously affecting Zoey's confidence. After some of the teens almost got eaten by sharks in the beach part of the challenge – which would have been awesome – Scott struck a bargain with Sadie and agreed to let her in on Bridgette's alliance – but with a catch: she has to obey his every command. Cody almost got himself eliminated when he ate almost all of the Screaming Gophers' ammo, but in the end, it was Dakota's desperate fame-mongering that caused the Screaming Gophers to lose the challenge, so they sent her home. But not without a sweet goodbye kiss to her _knight in shiny armour_ , Cody. I bet he's bummed, ha ha! With the Killer Bass up a player, will they be able to keep their lead? Find out today on Total Drama Island!"

_**Cue theme song.** _

Zoey sat at the table in the mess hall, studying her reflection in a spoon. With a frown, she gently touched the flower that she'd clipped into her hair, wondering if it was the right touch. She didn't want to look like she was trying too hard.

"Hey Zoey, what are you up to?" Trent asked, setting his tray on the table as he sat beside the girl.

"Nothing!" Zoey exclaimed with a start, slamming her spoon down on the table. With wide eyes, she regarded the dark-haired musician for a moment before she realized who was talking to her and she relaxed visibly. "Oh, it's just you. Morning, Trent."

"Oh. _Only_ me. I see how it is." Trent said with a teasing smile.

Zoey raised an eyebrow. "You know I didn't mean it like that."

"Yeah, yeah, _sure_." Trent teased, taking a bite of his gruel as Zoey picked up the spoon and continued to study her appearance. With an amused chuckle, Trent spoke. "I'm sure DJ will think your hair is fine the way it is."

Zoey lowered her spoon with a look of alarm. "W-what makes you think this is for DJ?"

It was Trent's turn to raise an eyebrow at his friend. "I've seen the way you look at him, 'bump' into him every chance you get."

Zoey's cheeks flushed red and she put her head on the table. "Is it really that obvious?"

"Nahh, it's alright." Trent said, smiling. "Besides, it's probably only something a friend could pick up on anyway."

"Are you sure? I don't want to seem desperate."

"You don't." Trent said. "It's kind of sweet, actually."

Zoey pursed her lips before nodding. "Okay, well if you're sure."

"One hundred percent." Trent assured the girl with a grin. "Now, go grab some breakfast. Chef's gruel is almost edible this morning."

Zoey nodded and went to stand in the lineup, shooting Trent a quick 'thank-you' glance when she realized that she would be waiting in line right behind DJ.

* * *

**Confessional**

_Trent sat in the confessional, looking somewhat pleased with himself. "Zoey is a great friend, and I'm happy to give her a nudge in DJ's direction. He seems like a really cool dude." Then he became rather bummed out about something. "I just wish Gwen felt the same about me as I feel about her. DJ is such a lucky guy."_

Static _._

" _I don't like this one bit." Beth said, shaking her head. "If DJ starts dating Zoey, it'll distract him! I mean, Bunny needs_ both _of his parents – I can't be a single Bunny-Mom!"_

* * *

"Bass, Gophers, Bears – today's challenge is a true summer camp experience. You'll be paddling your canoes across the lake to _Boney Island_!" Chris began, standing beside an easel with a map on it. "When you get there, you'll have to portage your canoes to the other side of the island, which is about a two-hour hike through treacherous, dense jungle-like conditions.

"We've got to pour what?" Geoff asked, looking confused by the instructions they'd been given.

"'Portage'." Chris repeated, frowning as Geoff stared blankly. "Dude – walk with your canoe."

"Oohhhh." Geoff said, grinning as he was finally able to understand what the host was saying.

" _Idiot_." Gwen commented, face-palming at the blonde male's stupidity.

"When you arrive at the other end of the island, you will build a rescue fire that will be judged by me. The first team to paddle home and return their canoes to the beach will win invincibility. Move, campers, move!" Chris said, signalling the start of the race. The teens bolted towards the shoreline, only to have Chris stop them seconds later. "Oh, wait! One more thing I should mention. Legend has it, if you take anything off the island, you'll be cursed forever!"

"Haha! A cursed island sounds so fun!" Izzy exclaimed, an excited grin on her face.

"Now get in your canoes and let's have some fun!" Chris said, officially dismissing the contestants. As the teens began to make their way towards the shoreline, another camper came sprinting up to Chris from the opposite direction, a piece of toilet paper stuck to their shoe.

"What'd I miss?" Lisped Beth as she paused in front of Chris's map.

"Canoes." Was the only explanation Chris gave as he jabbed a thumb in the direction of the shore.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _All I know is that I don't want to get stuck with the rodent whisperer again." Noah said, rolling his eyes. "She'd probably call her fish friends -" Noah raised his hands and wiggled his fingers as though mocking the performance of a magic trick for effect. "- and get them to push the canoe to the other island." Rolling his eyes, he scoffed at the preposterous idea._

* * *

"Zoey, be my partner?" Trent asked with a grin as the two made their way to the shore.

"You know it!" The redhead replied as the two move to claim their canoe.

"Oh! Oh! Cameron! We should team up!" Izzy exclaimed, grabbing the nerd's hand.

"But – Izzy -" Cameron exclaimed in protest as the ginger-haired girl dragged him towards the nearest canoe.

"Ugh! Ha!" Izzy said as she released Cameron's arm and pushed the canoe, but tripped and did a somersault into it. "Just follow my technique! I'm 1/87th Cherokee, you know. So the tribe could totally, like, claim me at any time."

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Sometime last week would have been nice!" Cameron told the confessional camera meekly, looking very distressed. "Izzy's nice and all, but she's also, you know, completely terrifying!"_

* * *

"Extreme!" Tyler shouted, offering Harold a high-five but missing and doing a faceplant right next to the ginger-haired geek.

"Gosh, are you alright?" Harold asked in concern, looking at his canoeing partner as the sporto lay face down in the sand.

Tyler's only response was a thumbs up.

"Hey DJ!" Beth lisped, grabbing hold of the tall boy's arm. "Will you be my partner?"

DJ looked confused at first, but nodded. "Sure."

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I just needed to make sure that DJ wasn't into Zoey." Beth said. "Because I'm not ready to be a single Bunny-Mom! I'm just not!"_

* * *

"Hey buddy, would you do me a huge favour?" Scott asked, elbowing his tall, dark and handsome jock friend as they walked towards the shoreline.

"Sha-sure." The jock said with a nod.

"Do you mind partnering up with Sadie for me? And keeping a close eye on her? I'm not so sure about her being in the alliance and all, but I know I can trust you to look out for the team. I'd go with her myself, but the old ball and chain wants me to go with her instead." Scott explained. "So what do you say?"

"You can count on Sha-Lightning!" The jock said with a nod, springing up to Sadie to ask her to be partners with him.

Reaching the bottom of the steps, Scott made his way towards Bridgette, who had already claimed a canoe for the both of them.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Lightning may not be all that bright, but that's why he's perfect for this little alliance." Scott said with a grin._

* * *

"Cody, would you like to partner up with me?" Came a gentle voice, stirring Cody from his trance-like state.

"Huh?" Cody asked in confusion, finding a wide-eyed blonde standing before him.

"I asked you if you wanted to be my partner for this challenge." Dawn restated, offering a reassuring smile.

"Oh, sure." Cody answered with a shrug. "Whatever."

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I sensed that Cody was still quite upset about Dakota's departure, and that he might want to talk about it." Dawn explained. "I'm always there to lend an ear when people are in need of one."_

* * *

"Looks like it's you and me, egghead." Jo commented to Noah as the two made their way to claim a canoe. "And you'd better not touch that book of yours. If you think I'm doing all the work, you're mistaken."

"Yay me." Noah quipped in his signature deadpan tone.

"Hurry up homegirl, before we end up stuck with _Her Royal Bossiness_." LeShawna said to Gwen.

"You really know how to motivate people." Gwen replied with a wry smile before the two sprinted into the water to claim a canoe.

"I guess that leaves just you and me." Courtney said to Mike, offering him a smile as the two made their way to the last of the canoes in their team colours.

"Could I maybe tag along with you two really strong, buff guys?" Heather asked in a sweet and flirty tone as she made her way up to Duncan and Geoff, whose eyes roamed her body in unison before they nodded mutely.

"Hey Al-baby, what do you say to me and you grabbing a canoe just you and me, huh?" Anne Maria purred, running her hands up the Latino's muscular arm.

"Nothing would bring me more pleasure." Alejandro answered smoothly, glancing over at Heather with a venomous glint in his teal eyes.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Vito's gorgeous and all, but Ale-hunk-dro is totally into me and how could I pass up a chance with a total babe like that?" Anne Maria gushed to the confessional camera._

Static.

" _If eternal fame and one hundred thousand dollars weren't being dangled in front of my face, I wouldn't even give Anne Maria the time of day." Alejandro admitted with a repulsed look._

* * *

"On your marks, get set," Chris said, pointing a small gun towards the sky as he observed the line of canoes along the shoreline. "Paddle!" He said, firing the gun into the sky. As the teens began paddling away from the beach, a large bird fell from the sky, having been struck by the bullet Chris had fired into the air.

"Yo, man, I thought the producers said to only put blanks in." Chef commented, observing the dead bird at Chris's feet.

Chris shrugged as he looked down at the dead creature. "That's gonna provoke some angry emails."

* * *

"Cody, would you like to talk about it?" Dawn asked, glancing back at the brunette with a gentle smile.

"About what?" Cody asked, distractedly.

"Dakota." Dawn said. "You've been very upset since she left, and I thought you might want someone to talk to."

"I'm fine, thanks." Cody answered, looking as though he would be content to slip back into his trance-like state.

"Are you sure? Because it will feel a lot better if you talk about it." Dawn told him. "And I won't breathe a word of it to anyone. You can trust me."

Cody breathed a reluctant sigh. "Alright."

* * *

"And then these bushmen taught us how to properly catch _and_ cook crocodile, as well as koala!" Izzy was telling Cameron as they paddled towards the other island.

"Uhh, Izzy, isn't killing a Koala bear _illegal_?" Cameron asked, his eyes growing wider with distress with each passing moment spent with Izzy.

"Oh, I don't know. Probably. Yeah." Izzy answered, laughing as though Cameron had told a very funny joke. "Probably, it's illegal."

* * *

**Confessional**

" _So Zoey's actually a really nice girl. We haven't really spoken that much, but from what we have, she seems really nice." Courtney said. "So I figured that I may as well find out for her what's going on with Mike. So that they can, like, exchange phone numbers or whatever after the show is over. When Mike won't be distracted from helping the team win challenges."_

* * *

"So, what do you think of the other teams?" Courtney asked, smiling at the spikey haired brunette at the front of the canoe.

"They're alright, I guess." Mike said with a shrug, looking somewhat puzzled by his teammate's question as they paddled across the lake. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh no reason, just curious." Courtney replied, glancing down at the water's surface for a moment. "I wouldn't want to be stuck on the same team as that Heather girl after what she did to that goth girl. That's not how you treat a teammate."

Mike glanced back at her with a raised eyebrow. "You _banished_ members of our team during that one challenge where we had to spend the night in the woods."

Courtney frowned for a moment before she sighed. "I guess I kind of overreacted a little bit."

"A little?" Mike asked her in good-humoured disbelief.

"Okay, maybe a lot." Courtney said with a reluctant grin, almost seeming amused despite herself. "But I don't plan on making the same mistake twice. Our team is stronger together – not divided."

"That's good to hear." Mike said with a nod. "But yeah, I've gotta agree with you there. That Heather girl seems like bad news."

"And I would never ever want to get stuck on the same team as _Duncan_. We really dodged a bullet there when Chris put him on a different team. I bet he doesn't even know how to make a list."

"Yeah. . ." Mike said in a very neutral way, glancing across the lake as though seeking a distraction.

"Zoey seems really nice though."

"Zoey?" Mike's attention was suddenly on Courtney.

"Yeah, you know that pretty redhead on the Gopher's team."

"Right, the redhead." Mike said with poorly feigned ignorance.

Courtney raised an eyebrow slightly at her teammate's response, a small smile playing off her lips. "When we got stuck on that ledge together, we ended up spending like three hours together. She actually seemed really nice. Have you ever spoken to her?"

Mike shrugged in the most noncommittal manner he could. "Once, I think. When we first got here."

"She's a real sweetie. You should get to know her sometime."

* * *

**Confessional**

_Mike scratched the back of his head in confusion. "Well, that was weird. Quite possibly the weirdest conversation I've had here so far. I mean, why would Courtney just mention Zoey out of the blue? I thought she was dating Trent?" Mike frowned. "Except, what Scott said . . . about Bridgette trying to protect the alliance. . . what if she lied to me?" Mike suddenly looked rather distressed. "What if Bridgette really isn't the person I thought she was? And . . . she knows my secret. . ."_

* * *

"So, DJ. . ." Beth began, glancing back at her teammate with a grin.

"What's up Beth?" DJ asked curiously, offering and encouraging smile to his teammate.

"So I have this super big question for you." Beth said. "It's super duper important."

"Okay, shoot." DJ said.

"So, I was – uh – wondering if you like anyone here at camp."

"Uhh. . ." DJ responded, obviously having been stumped by Beth's unexpected question.

"Like maybe Zoey?"

"I don't know, to be honest." DJ said with a shrug. "She's a sweet girl, no doubt about it. I'm not really sure what to say. She's pretty?"

"So you do like her."

"I don't know, Beth." DJ said. "I haven't got that part figured out yet."

"Oh, okay."

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I guess that will have to do for now." Beth said. "I guess as long as he doesn't know, he's not going to leave me as a single Bunny-mother."_

* * *

"What's that?" Mike asked, suddenly leaning forward and using his paddle to fish something out of the water.

"What's what?" Courtney asked, glancing up to see what Mike was doing.

"It's a hat." Mike said in bewilderment, taking the soggy brown fabric off the end of his paddle. Holding it up with one hand to inspect it, he grinned. "Oh cool, I've always wanted a hat like this."

"Well put it on the front of the canoe to dry and keep paddling! We're falling behind!"

"Roger that." Mike said with a nod, placing the brown fedora on the peak of the canoe's bow. Gripping the handle with both hands, he began to stroke the water with the paddle to speed up the canoe.

"Let's speed this thing up, shall we?" Courtney asked before she began to chant. "Stroke, stroke, stroke!"

* * *

"I don't know, I guess I'm just surprised that a girl like Dakota would actually go for a guy like me." Cody said with a devastated sigh. "You might not know this, but I'm not actually as good with the ladies as everything thinks I am."

Dawn nodded in a very neutral fashion, pausing her paddle a moment to glance through the water's glassy surface into the dark depths below.

"And I didn't even get to exchange phone numbers with Dakota, so I probably won't stand a chance with her after this is all over." Cody said, sighing again. "Not that having her phone number would do me much good. I bet she's forgotten who I am already."

"You don't give yourself enough credit." Dawn commented. "And by selling yourself short, you're selling Dakota short too. I think she'll remember you just fine after all this is over."

"You think so?" Cody asked hesitantly.

"Oh, definitely." Dawn said with a nod. "Besides, she did call you her knight in _shiny_ armour after all. Dakota doesn't seem like the type to call just anyone that, does she?"

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Well, okay then." Cody said, perking up a little. With a hesitant grin on his face, he glanced across the water at their competition, his eyes finally coming to rest on the goth girl he'd been crushing on since their very first day at camp.

* * *

**Confessional**

_Cody seemed almost back to himself in the confessional now, leaning back with his fingers laced together behind his head. "So what if Gwen wasn't ready for my charms? I can't say no to a pretty girl like Dakota." His good mood suddenly seemed to spoil and he slouched. "I mean, it would have been pretty awesome if Gwen and I had hooked up, but we didn't, so . . ."_

* * *

"Get outta the way, slowpokes!" Called a female voice with a thick Jersey accent as Mike and Courtney paddled in the direction of Boney Island.

Courtney whirled around in her seat to see that Anne Maria and Alejandro were right behind them. Her dark eyes narrowed, she spoke, frustration edging her tone. "What are you doing?! You're too close! This is dangerous!"

"Move it or lose it, freckles!" Anne Maria said, paddling harder to the point where the front of the Gopher canoe rammed the back of the Bear canoe, giving it a jolt of extra speed just before there was a nasty scraping sound as the Gopher canoe slid along the side of the Bear canoe.

"I call foul!" Courtney cried out, very angry. "This is sabotage!"

"Don't worry sheila, I'll get us out of this mess!" Mike announced in an Australian accent suddenly, the now-dry fedora having been blown off the bow of the canoe and conveniently landing on Mike's head when the Gophers had slammed their canoe.

Rocking the canoe violently as he stood up and then stepped to the centre of it, making Courtney grab onto the sides of the canoe for dear life, 'Mike' slammed his paddle between the two canoes and used it like a fulcrum to force space between the two canoes.

"Mike, what are you doing?!" Courtney cried out in alarm as Mike remained in the middle of the canoe. "You're going to tip the canoe!"

"Don't worry, sheila, I know what I'm doing." 'Mike' insisted, although the look on Courtney's face made it quite clear that she didn't believe him.

"Ooooh, that looks so fun!" Izzy exclaimed from a canoe behind them, laughing. "I wanna try it!"

"Izzy, no!" A terrified Cameron cried out moments before there was a loud _splash_! Courtney looked back at the canoe behind them still gripping the sides of her and Mike's canoe so tightly her knuckles had begun to turn white, to see Cameron sputtering as he resurfaced next to their overturned canoe.

Courtney turned to face the front once more, about to give Mike a piece of her mind when she realized that they were suddenly canoeing through thick fog. Pausing to survey the situation, she frowned. "Where did all this fog come from?!"

* * *

As the canoes reached their destination, a soggy Izzy jumped out of the once again upright canoe she'd been sharing with Cameron and shook dry like a dog. Righting herself, she looked around with eager eyes. "Okay, did you _see_ that skull? It's like this place is haunted or something!"

"Let's just get this over with." Gwen said, casting a glance at LeShawna, who nodded in response. The duo hoisted their canoe over their heads and took off down the trail.

"I wonder if we'll see any dead bodies!" Izzy exclaimed as she and Cameron lifted their canoe up. "Wouldn't that be so cool?"

"Um, no!" Cameron replied, looking extremely uncomfortable.

"I've always wanted to see a real live cadaver up close!" Izzy exclaimed, seeming to take Cameron's discomfort as enthusiasm.

"Yes, a real _live_ cadaver." Noah quipped.

Noah's sarcastic tone went right over Izzy's head and she beamed at him. "We should find one!"

"No thanks, I'm good. Really." Noah said, rolling his eyes as he and Jo picked up their canoe and began to make their way after their teammates along the trail.

* * *

As the teens sprinted down the trail towards the other side of the island, Dawn began to slow, looking uneasy.

"Tired already? You're worse than bookworm!" Jo barked at the blonde, but Dawn only shook her head in response.

"I resent that statement." Noah quipped, frowning.

"What? It's true!" Jo retorted, rolling her eyes.

"The energy here, it's off." Dawn commented with a frown, ignoring Jo and Noah's banter as the teens all halted on the trail.

"Here we go again." Noah said in his signature deadpan tone a half second before the bushes ahead of them began to rustle.

"I think I saw something." Cody said, fear and unease edging his tone as he surveyed the bushes.

Suddenly, a nearby tree crashed to the ground by the campers, startling them all. Then, a massive brown furry creature emerged from the undergrowth. At first, the campers assumed the creature was a bear, for it was a similar size, but as more creatures began to step out from the vegetation, the teens noticed the goliath tusks protruding from the beasts' jaws.

"MONSTER BEAVERS!" Cody screamed in terror before all three teams fled in the opposite direction.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _A remnant of the Pleistocene era, the woolly beaver is a day-active rodent indigenous to Boney Island." Chris said, looking very pleased with himself. "Oh yeah, and they're meat eaters!"_

* * *

"Not that way!" Dawn cried out, suddenly veering off the path and leading Cody down a smaller trail. "This way!"

"Where are you going?!" Jo called after her two teammates when she saw them veer off to the side trail.

"The other trail will not provide sanctuary! It is home to another threat!" Dawn called back to her teammates. With an angry sigh, Jo and the rest of the Screaming Gophers veered off from the rest of the group and began to make their way down the side trail.

"Come on, Gophers!" Alejandro called encouragingly to his teammates.

* * *

"Guys! It's a dead end!" Mike called out in alarm as the group splashed into a small pond at the base of a rock ledge.

"I'm thcared! I don't want to die!" Beth cried out.

"Who will look after Bunny?!" DJ said.

"Guys, they're leaving!" Courtney announced, amazed as the woolly beavers halted in their tracks, turning away from the pond and vanishing back into the woods.

"SHA-TAKE THAT!" Lightning called after the woolly beavers. "Sha-Losers!"

Unfortunately, Lightning's bragging awakened another threat. Massive birds began to emerge from the surrounding undergrowth, hissing and flapping their wings.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Boney Island is also home to a cousin of Terror Birds – Canadianis Fearus, an ancestor of modern Canadian Geese." Chris smirked. "They're pretty vicious, so it's best if they aren't disturbed."_

* * *

"What do we do now?" Zoey asked, sighing with exertion as she lowered her canoe onto her shoulders. The path that Dawn had lead them on instead had quickly turned narrow and before long, the forest seemed to have closed in on the whole team.

"We can't go back." Jo said with a strong tone of annoyance in her tone. "It'd take way too long and I bet the other teams are almost there by now as it is!"

"Well, while you're all trying to figure this out, I'm going to take a break." Noah commented, putting down his end of the canoe and taking a seat on a nearby rock.

"Don't you dare!" Jo snapped, but Noah put the canoe down anyway. Lowering her own end of the canoe, Jo walked over to Dawn and jabbed a finger into the girl's chest. "This is all your fault! If we'd just gone the same way as everyone else, we wouldn't be so far behind everyone right now!"

"If we had followed the others, we would have been trapped between two threats." Dawn insisted calmly. "We will find a way through this, I can sense it."

"Dawn is right. The Gophers are a strong team. We will make it through this challenge." Alejandro said, offering Dawn a smile.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _If we lose tonight, Dawn will be going home after she lead us all astray." Alejandro said with a shrug. "If she doesn't, I'm still trying to buy her allegiance. She'll either join me or she'll take the fall."_

* * *

As the teams were walking, a gust of wind blew through the woods and tore Mike's hat from his head, carrying it through the canoe like a wind tunnel and landing on the underside of Courtney's seat.

Mike gasped. Moments later, he glanced around in confusion. "Where _are_ we?"

"I have no idea." Courtney said honestly, looking around. "Hopefully we're pretty close to the shore."

Mike glanced around again. "Where did the Screaming Gophers go?"

"Who cares? With any luck, they're lost in the woods and can't find their way out." Scott said with a shrug.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _That's a terrible thing to say!" Bridgette said with a mildly upset look on her face. "I mean, I'm sure my sweet Scott was just joking, but it's still a mean thing to say about a person, even if you are joking!"_

* * *

"We can't go back and we can't go around," Jo said, more so to herself than to everyone else. "We'll have to go through it."

"What?" Zoey asked, looking to the blonde jockette for direction.

"We have to go through it." Jo repeated. "Come on! We have to get moving before the other teams beat us to the finish line!"

"Are you serious?" Zoey asked, looking at the thick undergrowth in the direction in which they hoped to go.

"Completely." Jo answered firmly.

"This would be the best option." Dawn said with a nod of agreement. "I sense that not all the offered paths are quite as safe as Chris would have us believe. We would do best to make our own."

* * *

The Killer Bass had halted side by side at a fork in the road.

"Which way are we gonna go?" DJ asked, glancing around at his teammates.

"I say right, bro." Geoff said to his friend.

"Let's go!" Heather told her team. "Before the other team catches up!"

"How about you try carrying the canoe for once, sweetheart?" Duncan snapped, glancing back at Geoff, who was helping him carry the canoe they had shared with Heather.

"Drop dead." Heather retorted, rolling her eyes in annoyance.

* * *

"I can see the other team!" Sadie called out to her teammates as she and Lightning sprinted at the front of the pack with their canoes hoisted high above their heads. "They're taking the trail on the right!"

"Sha-losers!" Lightning shouted.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I would just like to thank my best girl Eva for pushing me! I would, like, never have been able to, like, keep up with Lightning without her motivating me to get fit!" Sadie said, smiling at the confession camera. "Eva, if you're watching, I totally miss you right now!"_

* * *

"If the other team is going right, then we should definitely go left!" Courtney told her team.

"The right trail is wider though," Bridgette commented. Courtney frowned but didn't argue.

Suddenly another gust of wind picked up. Seconds later, Izzy spoke. "Oh, hey, Courtney, you dropped your hat. That is like, a way cool hat. It's an adventure hat!"

"Oh, that's not mine. It's Mike's." Courtney replied.

Mike halted. "I was just wondering where that went."

"Here!" Izzy said, dropping to all fours to pick up the hat with her teeth, then flinging it towards her teammate.

Mike caught it, and though he looked mildly disturbed by the small patch of drool that the redhead had left on the rim of his hat, but he put it on his head anyway. He gasped.

"So, what path are we taking, guys?" Sadie asked her teammates.

"The left one, sheila." Mike responded in an Australian accent. "Adventure awaits!"

"I don't know, Mike, I think the right one might be better. It looks safer." Bridgette said skeptically.

"Danger? Awesome!" Izzy cried out, beginning to sprint towards the left path and dragging Cameron with her in the process. "I love danger! Let's go!"

Mike seemed to take that as confirmation of his choice, and began to follow the redhead, a determined look on his face.

* * *

The Bass were making their way down the trail they had chosen, and things seemed to be looking good. They had covered a lot of ground with little hassle and appeared to be in a good place in regards to the competition.

Unfortunately, their good luck was not destined to last.

"AH!" Geoff suddenly cried out in pain, dropping to the ground and clutching his leg. "Oh the pain! I'm down! I'm down!"

"Why are you stopping?" Heather asked in annoyance, her hands on her hips as she stalked to the front of the group and gave Geoff a dirty look.

"Dude's hurt." Duncan answered, rolling his eyes.

"Well suck it up! We have a challenge to win!" Heather commanded, clapping her hands twice. "Chop chop!"

"Maybe we could if you'd pitch in and help us out! But I don't see you carrying any canoes!" Duncan snapped.

"For once, I agree with the scrawny white delinquent." LeShawna said, shooting Heather a look. "You _could_ always try pulling your weight and see how much further it gets this team."

"Hey, watch who you're calling scrawny, sister." Duncan said, shooting LeShawna a look of annoyance.

"Oh, sure, that's all you get from what I said. Typical." LeShawna said, rolling her eyes.

"Guys, now is not the time!" Gwen said, surveying her team with a look frustration.

"Why did this have to happen to me?! Why? Whyyyyy?!" Geoff exclaimed dramatically, before reaching for Gwen. "You have to go on without me."

The goth girl just rolled her eyes and responded in her typical monotone voice. "I'd love to, but Chris will probably make up a rule about having to have all our team members present to win if we show up without you."

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I didn't know if I was going to make it." Geoff said, looking both pained and thankful to be alive. "It was touch and go."_

_Static._

" _We should have just left him behind." Gwen said, rolling her eyes in annoyance._

_Static._

" _The man just kept going." DJ said, looking touched by his friend's commitment. "Dude's got heart."_

* * *

As the Thrashing Bears made their way through the forest towards their destination with Sadie and Lightning still leading the pack, the pair at the front of the group suddenly began to grow shorter.

"Oh my gosh! Like, help! I'm stuck!" Sadie cried out as she suddenly found herself unable to move.

"Sha-what?!" Lightning exclaimed in alarm. "The Lightning is shrinking!"

* * *

**Confessional**

" _How was The Lightning supposed to know that was quicksand?" Lightning said, looking irritated. "It looks just like sha-regular sand!"_

* * *

"I've got you, sheila!" Mike announced, dropping the canoe, sprinting to the nearest tree. Grabbing onto a thick green vine, he gave it a firm yank and pulled it to the ground.

"Mike, what are you doing?" Courtney cried out, pushing the canoe off her shoulders and glaring at her teammate.

"Don't worry your pretty little head, sheila. Let a man handle this." Mike said to Courtney, making the brunette sputter with rage as he fashioned a lasso out of the vine he had pulled from the tree. Swinging the vine lasso, he roped the looped end around a branch above Sadie and Lightning, before swinging over to the duo on his rescue vine.

Unfortunately, as Mike extended his hand to rescue Sadie, a gust of wind tore his hat from his head and it landed in the quicksand, quickly vanishing into its depths. Mike gasped, and looked confused for a moment before panic spread over his face as he realized where he was. Clutching the vine in terror, Mike found Sadie clutching his free hand and couldn't help the feeling of panic spreading through his body as the girl pulled herself up the vine and to safety.

* * *

"We're never going to make it to the shore at this rate!" Jo snapped at her teammates. "Hurry up, or we'll lose – again!"

"We're goin' as fast as we can." Anne Maria replied, giving the blonde jockette an irritated look. "Ya need to take a chill pill or somethin'."

"No, I won't take a chill pill! We lost the last challenge and thanks to elf-girl, we're going to lose another one!" Jo snapped, casting a dirty look in Dawn's direction. "We've been walking through the woods to who knows where for hours, and we don't seem to be getting any closer to where we're supposed to be going! We're going to lose if we don't get a move on! So hurry up!"

With her last three words, Jo gave her canoe a huge shove, accidentally tripping her partner Noah when the weight of the canoe being shoved forward off-balanced him on some loose rocks and he did a faceplant. The entire weight of the canoe now on Jo, the front of it dug into the ground and pushed her backwards, making her bump into her teammates, Dawn and Cody, who were carrying their canoe behind Jo and Noah.

Almost as off-balanced as the pair in front of them, Dawn and Cody stumbled in unison before pushing their canoe over on its side and getting the weight off of them.

"Amiga, Anne Maria is right. The terrain makes it difficult to cover ground very efficiently." Alejandro said as. "But we are making progress, even if it is slow."

"What is your problem?!" Jo snapped, turning back to Dawn.

"Jo, that wasn't our fault." Cody replied, frowning. "Give us a break. We've been trekking through rough woods for like two hours."

"Hey guys?" Noah called from the front of the group.

Jo whirled to face Noah's direction, glaring with anger and irritation. "What do you want, Noah?"

"Your concern for my well being is absolutely touching. I'm _fine_ , thanks." The bookworm stood up, frowning as he pulled a bramble vine off of his arm. "And as much as I enjoy the team tension, I thought you might want to see this."

And with one arm, Noah pushed aside the bushes to reveal an expanse of water before them, with golden sands stretching out to connect them to the water's edge.

They had finally reached the beach.

* * *

The Gophers were, miraculously, the first team to arrive on the beach. Quickly they got to work fetching twigs and logs and other things that would burn to prepare their rescue fire. It wasn't long until the Bears arrived on the scene and quickly got to work on their fire as well.

The Bass were the last team to arrive on the scene, but they were the first team to have their fire started as Duncan was in possession of a lighter. Courtney began to sputter angrily at the unfairness, but Chris deemed that having a lighter was not against the rules and told Courtney to stop complaining.

The Gophers had their rescue fire started not long after the Bass had theirs going as they had a headstart, and as they began to sprint around to find fuel for the fire to make it bigger, the Bears managed to get theirs lit as well.

* * *

Desperately trying to find things that would burn, Beth bent down by a rock and found something rather unexpected. It was a cute wooden idol that she couldn't see any harm in taking from the island. It was definitely something that she would have liked to take home from the camp at the end of the summer.

So she picked it up, intending to keep it as a souvenir.

As she turned and began to walk back to her team's fire to throw on the handful of twigs and dried leaves she had managed to collect, there was a massive BOOM! And Beth was throw backwards, the idol flying out of her hands as Beth hit the ground.

Blinking, it took her a moment before her hearing came back to her and even then it was rather muffled. Glancing around at the others in confusion, Beth guessed that, judging from how cautious the Thrashing Bears were looking and how far from their fire they were standing, Izzy had probably thrown one of her explosive balls on her team's fire like she had thrown on the Bass's burning fort in the previous challenge, and the explosion had been big enough to knock them all back.

Beth heard a muffled voice and couldn't really comprehend what was said, but after the voice ended, all the teens began to move back to their canoes and Beth guessed that Izzy's little trick had earned the Bears a point towards the win.

Her ears still ringing, she followed her friend Heather towards the shoreline.

* * *

"Where did you learn to do that?" Courtney asked her teammate in bewilderment as the duo got into a canoe together, blinking as she glanced back at the massive fire that Izzy had created on the beach with her explosive sap ball trick.

"Oh, you know, I spent a summer training with the reserves." Izzy told her, putting her hands on her teammate's shoulders, not even caring that her face was covered with soot and other remnants of the explosion. "I got into some trouble there and, like, blew up the kitchen by accident which is why the RCMP is still all over my butt. I'm so totally AWOL."

* * *

The final canoe race was a close one, but it was Lightning and Sadie of the Thrashing Bears who hit the shores of Camp Wawanakwa first, followed moments later by Duncan, Geoff and Heather.

Upon seeing that the two other teams had arrived before them, Jo cried out in anger and frustration. Gritting her teeth for a moment, she stormed over to Dawn and Cody's canoe and jabbed a finger into Dawn's chest. "Argh! This is all your fault!"

"Calm down Jo." Cody said before Dawn had a chance to speak up in her own defence, rolling his eyes. "She didn't do anything wrong."

"Yes she did!" Jo snapped. "She took us on that stupid detour through the woods and got us lost! You cost us this game and you're going to pay for it tonight."

"And that 'stupid detour' got us to the beach before anyone else! Us losing wasn't Dawn's fault." Cody pointed out, silencing Jo, who seemed as though she wanted to argue more, but could not think of anything more to contribute to the argument. With a grunt, Jo turned on her heel and stormed away to the Gopher cabins.

Dawn put a hand on her teammate's shoulder. "Thank you for defending me."

Cody shrugged. "Anytime, Dawn. And hey, thanks for lending me your ear today. You're a good friend. I definitely feel a lot better."

"Oh, how touching." Noah quipped sarcastically. "Dakota must be upset to find out that you think she is so forgettable, huh?"

Dawn narrowed her eyes and turned to the bookworm. " _Thank you for your input, Mr. Darcy_."

Noah's mouth was agape for just a second. "What did you just say?"

"Surely someone who prizes literature as much as yourself understands _that_ reference." Dawn retorted before turning on her heel and walking away, leaving all who remained on the beech in a state of shock at her response.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I don't normally lose my temper like that." Dawn said, taking a deep breath. "But I just spent the day consoling Cody and Noah had to go and say that. Cody was very upset that Dakota was eliminated, so Noah's comment probably hurt him a great deal." Dawn took another deep breath, then smiled. "There, my zen has been restored."_

* * *

Tyler was making his way from the bathroom and heading towards the Bass cabin to grab something before he headed over to the mess hall for supper when he heard voices coming from around the side. Unsure what he should do, he was about to ignore the voices and go straight inside when he heard something that made him stop.

"Or I'll tell the entire team how much of a traitor you are."

Halting in his tracks, Tyler crept to the edge of the cabin and glanced around the corner as inconspicuously as he could manage, and saw Heather talking with Harold.

"You wouldn't." Harold said.

"How long do you think you would last if everyone knew the truth, dorkwad?" Heather asked, tapping her foot impatiently. "Do as I tell you or you'll regret it."

His breath catching in his throat, Tyler stepped back as quietly as he could, but stepped on a creaky board on his way up the stairs. Freaked out by the possibility that Heather and Harold would catch him and think he was spying or something, he sprinted up the stairs and dove into his bed, wrapping himself up in his blankets and immediately pretending to be asleep, an act which he continued when Harold walked into the cabin, sighed, and began to get ready for dinner himself.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Harold is a traitor to the team? So not extreme." Tyler asked in dismay. "That sucks, I thought that guy was pretty cool."_

* * *

"So, who are we voting out tonight?" Zoey asked as she looked around at her teammates who were all sitting on the steps of the cabin.

"I think we should vote for Jo." Cody said, earning a glare from the blonde jockette. "What? You've been a total tyrant lately."

"Okay, I admire your nerve kid for saying that to my face, but if you vote me out tonight I _will_ rearrange yours." Jo said, giving him a dark look.

"Well then who do you propose we vote out tonight?" Cody countered. "And don't say Dawn because she has done absolutely nothing wrong and doesn't deserve to go home yet."

Dawn smiled at her friend as Jo scanned the group, eventually coming to focus on the hot blooded Latino across from her. "How about Alejandro?"

"Nuh-uh. I'd take Al-baby over you any day." Anne Maria said, reaching into her pouf for her can of hair spray. Withdrawing something cylindrical, she was about to spray it on her hair when she realized it felt wrong and had no spray button. Holding it in front of her face, she stared in disbelief, her face suddenly contorting to a look of anger. "Ok, fess up. Which one of you losers stole my hairspray and replaced it with this stupid thing?"

Zoey looked at the small idol in Anne Maria's hands. "Where did that come from?"

"Don't play dumb with me, red. You probably stuck it in my pouf to hope I wouldn't notice when you stole my hairspray." Anne Maria said, throwing the idol at Zoey, who somehow managed to catch the thing.

"Why would I steal your hairspray?" Zoey asked, frowning. "And where would I even get a wooden idol like this? I haven't seen anything like this anywhere."

"Well if you didn't, who did?" Anne Maria demanded before storming up the stairs into the cabin to find a replacement can of beauty product.

"I wouldn't touch that if I were you." Dawn said to Zoey, eyeing the idol with caution.

"Why?" Zoey asked, turning the thing over as she, Trent and Cody studied the thing.

"That's better." Anne Maria, having found a replacement can of hairspray, now stood at the top of the stairs, tending to her pouf.

"Because it's full of negative energy and darkness." Dawn answered. "I think it must have come from Boney Island."

Zoey dropped the thing as though it had suddenly become a thousand degrees. Reluctant to touch it, she kicked it off the steps of the Gopher cabin. "This must have been one of the things that Chris warned us about taking from Boney Island."

"Oh good going Anne Maria, you got the whole team _cursed forever_." Noah quipped sarcastically, waving his hands about to mock the so-called curse.

"Oh, so you're framing me, huh, pixie dust?" Anne Maria asked, pointing the hairspray can at Dawn. "You must'a took it from Boney Island to frame me so you could save yourself."

"I would never do such a thing." Dawn insisted, looking hurt by the accusation. Turning to her other teammates, she focused on Cody. "You don't think I would do such a heinous thing, do you?"

"Of course not." Cody said, turning to Anne Maria. "You're being ridiculous."

"What if we are cursed now?" Zoey asked in alarm. "What if we lost today because the team is now cursed?"

"You don't seriously believe what Chris said about the cursed island, do you?" Noah asked in disbelief. "It's all stupid superstitions. You know that, right?"

"Why would you take the idol though? Even after Chris said not to take anything from the island?" Zoey asked, looking at Anne Maria.

"You must be mentally defective if you think I'd leave a can of hairspray for that piece of junk." Anne Maria snapped before storming down the steps. About to head over to the mess hall, she turned to her teammates and pointed the can of hairspray at them. "And jus' remember. When I find out which one of ya stole my hairspray – you're dead. I'll give you the biggest beat-down of ya life."

As the team watched Anne Maria retreat, Jo stood up and walked to the bottom of the stairs. "So, I think we know who's going home tonight."

And with that, she kicked the idol further from the Gopher cabin and the team scattered about the camp.

* * *

"Jo and Anne Maria, you are our bottom two tonight." Chris said, pausing dramatically.

. . .

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"Just give me the marshmallow already." Jo said, rolling her eyes in annoyance.

Chris glared at her. "You kids just don't understand the meaning of the word _drama_ _tic pause_ , do you?"

"That's a phrase, actually." Noah commented, earning a dirty look from Chris as well.

"Are you doing to give me my marshmallow or not?" Jo demanded.

"What makes you so sure you're gonna get the last marshmallow tonight, miss Tyrannosaur?" Anne Maria asked, raising an eyebrow at Jo.

"Miss Tyrannosaur?" Jo asked, looking puzzled at first, then she shook her head. "Never mind. I'm sure I'm going to get the last marshmallow because I am." Jo said, opening her hand as Chris threw her the last marshmallow.

Anne Maria glared, grabbing her hairspray from her hair and pointing it at Jo's face as though it was a can of mace. But the jockette slapped the Jersey girl's hand away and the can of hairspray went flying.

"Oh, you're gonna regret that." Anne Maria said, looking as though she was about to punch Jo before Chef grabbed her arms and began to drag her towards the Dock of Shame.

* * *

Making her way out of the cabin and towards the mess hall for dinner, Beth tripped over something and ended up sprawled on the ground in front of the Bass cabin. Feeling around for her lost glasses, she found the item that she tripped over, and then her glasses. Putting her glasses back on, a huge smile spread over Beth's face as her vision was restored and she was able to see what had tripped her.

"Well that was lucky." Beth commented, grinning to herself before she hurried up the steps of the cabin to put the tiki idol from Boney Island by her pillow before she continued on her way to the mess hall.

* * *

**The Votes:**

" _Sorry mi amore." Alejandro said insincerely. "Anne Maria must go."_

Static.

" _I can see in her aura that Anne Maria did not mean to curse our team, but she brought it upon us and for that we must send her home." Dawn said._

Static.

" _Princess Pouf has got to go. Better her than me." Jo said._

Static.

" _They can't seriously believe that we lost because Anne Maria took an idol from Boney Island, can they?" Noah asked in disbelief. "I vote for Alejandro. I still think he is too slimy and cannot be trusted."_

Static.

" _Pixie dust framed me. She's gotta go." Anne Maria said. "And I'mma give her a beat-down she won't soon forget too."_

Static.

" _I vote with the rest of the team – for Anne Maria." Trent said._

Static.

" _I still think Jo should go. She's been a huge jerk lately, but I think everyone else is voting for Anne Maria, so it doesn't really matter who I vote for." Cody said. "I think I'll vote for Jo anyway."_

Static.

" _Anne Maria may have cursed our team with that idol. I guess I vote for her." Zoey said._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eliminated so far:
> 
> 37th: Katie  
> 36th: Staci  
> 35th: Sierra  
> 34th: Sam  
> 33rd: Eva  
> 32nd: Owen  
> 31st: B  
> 30th/29th: Lindsay & Ezekiel  
> 28th: Justin  
> 27th: Brick  
> 26th: Dakota  
> 25th: Anne Maria


	14. Paintball Deer Hunter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Screaming Gophers: Dawn, Alejandro, Noah, Cody, Trent, Zoey, Jo
> 
> Killer Bass: Duncan, LeShawna, Geoff, Gwen, Heather, Harold, Beth, Tyler, DJ
> 
> Thrashing Bears: Sadie, Cameron, Courtney, Scott, Lightning, Izzy, Bridgette, Mike

"Last time on Total Drama Island, the teens went on a canoe trip to _Boney Island_ where they faced some pretty killer wildlife. Courtney thought she'd give Mike a hand with the ladies by dropping some hints about Mike's crush Zoey, but Zoey might already have moved on from Mike to Killer Bass member, DJ. Dawn and Cody struck up an unlikely friendship when Dawn consoled Cody over losing Dakota, and Cody stood up to Jo when Jo started picking on Dawn for getting them lost in the woods, which actually turned out to be a pretty good thing because the Gophers were first on the scene for part two of the challenge. Tyler overheard Heather blackmailing Harold and Beth stole a tiki idol from Boney Island. Things were looking up for the Bass when Beth lost her cursed idol in Anne Maria's hair, resulting in Anne Maria getting the boot when the Gophers ended up at the campfire ceremony that night. Things are still looking up for the Killer Bass, but now that Beth has her cursed idol back, is their luck about to run out? Find out today on Total Drama Island!"

_**Cue theme song.** _

The peaceful night at Camp Wawanakwa was not fated to bleed into a nice, peaceful day. Instead, it would come to a crashing halt as a sadistic television host and his sidekick flew over the three cabins, startling all the contestants awake with the obnoxiously loud roar of the bright red helicopter.

In the Killer Bass cabin, the helicopter's arrival startled awake a former juvenile delinquent who, upon hearing the sound of the helicopter overhead, had a flashback to his days running from the police and dove out of bed in a panic.

"Hit the deck! They're coming, man! They found us!" Duncan cried out in alarm as he scrambled out of his bed, grunting when he slipped on a piece of fabric that had carelessly tossed on the floor and hit the ground. Realizing where he was, he picked up the piece of fabric, but threw it away quickly with a look of disgust. "Oh, gross!"

"What's the matter, bro?" Geoff asked, rolling over to face his buddy from his bunk across the cabin.

"Dorkahontas." Duncan said simply, grabbing a nearby stick that was propped up against the bunk beds to use to pick up the garment. Carrying it towards the bunk under his – Harold's – he shoved the stick in the boy's face and dropped it onto the sleeping boy's face, startling him awake.

Sitting bolt upright in shock, Harold flailed his arms for a moment before he realized where he was. "Huh? What?"

"Stop leaving your dirty underwear on the floor." Duncan snapped, leaning down to pick up one of the several pieces of paper that had slid to the floor when Harold sat up. With a smirk, he grabbed two of the papers. "What's this?"

"Don't touch those!" Harold said, reaching up quickly to grab the papers from the punk's hand, but Duncan quickly stepped away, holding them well out of reach. Harold's face flushed red. "Don't! Those are private, GOSH!"

"Private, huh?" Duncan asked. "Well in that case. . ."

"Thanks." Harold said, breathing a sigh of relief.

Duncan smirked. "Finder's keepers!"

"But those are mine! Gosh!"

"And so is the dirty underwear that you keep leaving around the cabin!" Duncan said. "I'll give these back when you start picking up after yourself."

"That's not fair!" Harold said, frowning as he leaned over to gather the remaining papers, but Duncan was faster and grabbed two more pages. "Give those back!"

"Ah ah ah. Is that any way to treat the one who has your diary?" Duncan said, holding the pages up to taunt the boy.

"That's not my diary, GOSH! Do you even know how to read?" Harold retorted, rolling his eyes. "They're poems."

"Same difference." Duncan said, cruelly looking down at the pages in his hand.

" _Curves of an angel_

_with a bodacious booty_

_a mortal goddess._ "

"Stop! That's private!" Harold said, diving for the poem in Duncan's hand, but the punk held out an arm to keep Harold back and kept the poems out of reach as he continued to read.

" _Dark locks, dark beauty_

_the girl with smouldering eyes_

_Heaven graces Earth._ "

"Dude, those are some seriously whack poems!" Geoff said with a chuckle.

"Not that I am any kind of poetry connoisseur, but these are the worst poems I have ever heard." Duncan said with a tone of amusement.

"They don't even rhyme, dude!" Geoff laughed.

"They're Haikus, GOSH! They're not supposed to rhyme!" Harold said, taking a dive for the poems in Duncan's hand once more, but the punk punched the nerd in the gut, downing him. With a grunt, he fell to the cabin floor, clutching his stomach.

"High-what?" Geoff asked, giving Duncan props before he accepted one of the pages from the punk. After a moment, he and DJ began laughing together over what was written on the page. "Dude, this is so bad."

"Haikus." Harold repeated, still laying on the floor clutching his stomach in pain. "They're a huge part of Japanese culture, GOSH!"

* * *

**Confessional**

" _What a dork." Duncan said with a smirk as he read the poem in his hands. "I mean come on – a 'booty as luscious as an apple'? Bahahaha!"_

Static.

" _I really need to find somewhere to keep my poetry that Duncan won't find it." Harold said with an aggravated sigh._

* * *

LeShawna sat bolt upright and bashed her head off the top bunk, yet again. You'd think she'd be used to these frequent rude awakenings by now and would have stopped her habit of sitting bolt upright when startled awake, but no. She was still bashing her head off the top bunk with every loud sound that Chris caused in order to wake them all up before challenges.

"Oooh!" LeShawna said, her hand flying to the part of her head that she had just bashed against the top bunk. "That dude is really starting to get on my last nerve!"

"Ugh, whatever." Heather said with a yawn. "He just loves ruining our mornings!" Then she turned to the bunk across from hers. "Beth, go warm up the showers for me. Now! And remember -"

"Not too hot this time, I know." Beth said with a sigh of defeat.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I never thought being popular would be this much work." Beth said with a tired sigh. "Between doing things for Heather and helping DJ look after Bunny, I hardly have time for myself anymore!"_

* * *

Harold let himself out of the stall in the communal washrooms and was disappointed to find three of his least favourite people in front of him. Duncan, Geoff and DJ were all kind of jerks to him. They were still laughing over the poems they had stolen from him that morning to the point that they were quoting them between fits of hysterical laughter.

Well just wait until one of them felt strongly enough for a girl to write her a poem expressing his feelings!

Not that Harold had made the mistake of thinking Duncan capable of having feelings for anyone but himself. DJ and Geoff were pretty bro-ey too. To be quite honest, he wasn't sure if the three of them had the combined intelligence to write a poem at all, let alone one of the cultural calibre that Harold's own Haikus had. They were just dumb jerks, and they were clearly intimidated by Harold's intelligence and mad skills.

And obviously none of them had the culture and class that Harold himself had.

"Oh hey Dorkahontas." Duncan said with a smirk. "Find any more 'luscious booties' to write bad poetry about?"

" _Like a Raven's wing_

_you make my heart soar higher_

_than ever before._ "

Geoff read in a dramatic and theatrical but still mocking tone before the trio began to roar with laughter, Duncan slapping DJ on the shoulder while Geoff clutched his gut from laughing so hard.

"That's not funny." Harold said, his face heating up again as a blush began to spread across his cheeks as it had that morning. "GOSH!"

As he made his way over to the sink to wash his hands, he tried to ignore the trio who were laughing at the words that he felt so intimately. You didn't just take a person's poetry and broadcast it to the world! That was cruel and unusual punishment!

A click drew the boys' attention temporarily to the stalls once more, where Tyler was exiting one of the stalls. He halted with a deer in headlights expression the moment he caught sight of Harold, and stared for a moment.

"Oh look Dorkahontas, you're already stopping traffic with your horrific poetry!" Duncan sneered before Tyler bolted.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I overheard Heather and Harold talking about Harold being a traitor to the team!" Tyler said, looking nervous. "I don't know who I can trust to talk to about this! I gotta tell someone! I'm really bad at keeping secrets!"_

* * *

"Give those back!" Harold cried out, diving for the poems yet again while the punk was somewhat distracted, but Duncan shoved him to the ground once more.

"Learn your place, dweeb." Duncan snapped. "And stop leaving your dirty underwear everywhere or you'll never see your diary pages again!"

"They're not diary pages." Harold said with a sigh of defeat as the trio of jerks left him alone in the washroom, laying on the floor.

Pushing his hands out in front of him to stand up, one of the floorboards beneath him shifted and creaked. A curious expression on his face, Harold took a quick peek at the stalls and, satisfied that he didn't see any feet under the stall doors, pried up the loose floorboard, discovering a small cavern just beneath the bathroom floor.

"Awesome." Harold said to himself, grabbing a paper from his pocket and shoving it down into the hole before putting the floorboard back down on top of it, perfectly hiding his new poems.

His haikus were safe.

* * *

A long line of girls stood outside the communal washrooms, all doing the traditional "I really have to pee" dance as they waited for their chance to use the washroom.

"What's the hold-up?" Bridgette asked from further back in the line.

"Heather needs her private time." Beth said, holding her breath to keep herself from peeing her pants.

"How long is _Queenie_ gonna be in there?" LeShawna asked impatiently. "I've got urgent business!"

"She could still be awhile." Beth answered.

"That's it." Gwen said, succumbing to desperation and leaving the lineup. "I'm going lumberjack style."

Suddenly the nearest loudspeaker crackled to life and Chris's voice could be heard across the campground. " _I hope you're ready for the most challenging challenge yet! Breakfast in three minutes at the campfire pit! Be ready to bring your A game!_ "

"Um, Heather?" Beth asked urgently, knocking on the bathroom door to get the Queen Bee's attention.

"Can you come in here and lotion my back?" Heather asked from within, before impatiently adding. "It's _peeling_."

Beth sighed as she submitted to Heather's whims once more.

* * *

"Are you ready for today's extreme max impact challenge?!" Chris demanded, standing in front of the teens with a grin.

"EXTREME!" Tyler returned Chris's battle cry, raising his arm to show just how pumped he was.

"Incoming!" Chris said, tossing cans of beans towards the contestants.

Tyler's can hit him in the forehead and knocked him to the ground. Mike gasped before doing a pirouette and catching the can that had been thrown in his direction. Zoey's cat-like reflexes had her block the can with the back of her hand to prevent it from hitting her in the stomach.

"Ow!" Zoey exclaimed, rubbing the red mark on the back of her wrist.

Trent reached out and managed to catch the can that Chris had tossed at Gwen's face, and he exchanged a reluctant smile with her.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Does it make me an idiot if I still think there is a chance for Gwen and I?" Trent asked the confessional cam with a sigh. "I mean, a guy can hope."_

* * *

"This is breakfast." Chris said, tossing a can to the remaining contestants.

"No. Breakfast is crepes. Croissants. Even Chef's yucky burnt eggs." Heather corrected, looking down at the can of beans in her hands with a look of disgust.

"Today's challenge is about survival! We're going hunting!" Chris said, raising a gun above his head.

Dawn gasped with horror. "You can't be serious! You are an evil, wretched man!"

"Now that's more like it!" Duncan said, nodding with approval at the weapon in Chris's hand.

"Isn't that a paintball gun?" Harold asked.

"Why yes Harold, it is." Chris said, lowering the gun and shooting Harold in the chest at close range.

Harold dropped to the ground, struggling to catch his breath after the wind had been knocked out of him.

Duncan laughed at the dork's plight. "Gotta get me one of those!"

"So we won't be killing anything?" Bridgette confirmed, exchanging a concerned look with rival team member Dawn.

"Negatory." Chris said. "This is paintball deer hunt!"

"Are we going to be shooting deer with the paintballs?" Dawn asked suspiciously.

"No." Chris said, rolling his eyes. "Just other campers dressed up like deer. Happy now?"

"Quite." Dawn said with a nod, backing down.

"I'll announce the teams once we get into the woods, so finish brekky!" Chris said.

"You don't seriously expect me to eat this, do you?" Heather asked, dropping the can of baked beans on the ground with a look of disgust.

* * *

The three teams, now assembled in the woods in front of a wall where several guns were hanging, waited for Chris to begin explaining the game.

"And now for the team breakdowns: Harold, LeShawna, Tyler and Beth, locked and loaded with orange paint." Chris said, handing the aforementioned team members each a gun as he called their name. "Zoey, Alejandro and Cody will be shooting with gopher green paint, and Bridgette, Mike, Izzy and Scott will be shooting with bear purple paint."

"Awesome." Harold said, looking down at the weapon in his hands with an interested grin.

"What? Dorkahontas gets a gun and I don't?" Duncan asked in irritation.

"Hunters also get these snazzy orange glasses and wicked camo caps!" Chris said as he handed each hunter a set. Then he turned to the remaining campers with a pleased grin. "The rest of you are now deer. Here are your antlers, noses and little white tails."

"Yeah right! I am _NOT_ wearing that." Heather said, her arms crossed over her chest.

"There is no way that I'm a deer." Duncan said, glaring at the host, who only smirked and slapped a set on antlers onto the boy's head.

"Take these off and your team is toast." Chris said with a smirk.

Duncan turned to glare at the nearest rival team member, Scott. "What are you looking at?"

"Nothing. . ." Scott said, before adding in a low voice, " _Bambi_."

"You'd better be a good shot, _sharkbait_." Duncan sneered, getting in Scott's face.

"Oh don't worry," Scott replied with a smirk. "I am."

"Deer get a two minute head start to find a hiding place!" Chris announced. "Ready, set, go!"

* * *

"This may be the lamest thing I have ever done in my life." Gwen said in her signature monotone to her teammates, as the five of them were walking in a large pack.

"At least we get a head start, bra." Geoff said, putting an arm around the goth girl as they walked into the forest.

"Don't touch me." Gwen said, shrugging off the party boy's arm and twisting it up his back.

"Ouch! Chill bra!" Geoff said, holding up his free hand in a signal of surrender. Gwen gave him an annoyed look and released the boy.

"I don't know about ya'll, but I am out of here." DJ said, before getting down on all fours and bounding off into the undergrowth, leaving his teammates in a stunned silence.

"I'm waiting right here." Heather said, sitting down on a nearby rock, her arms crossed over her chest. "Then Beth and Harold can find me and protect me."

"Dorkahontas, huh? I didn't take him for your type." Duncan smirked, getting a fist bump from Gwen.

"Ew, disgusting!" Heather said, making a face at the idea. "He owes me a favour and I want to collect before he gets voted off and I lose my chance."

"Sure, sure." Duncan said in a tone that suggested he didn't believe the queen bee.

"Dude, I think we found our bodacious booty." Geoff said to Duncan, resulting in the two cracking up as the trio made their way deeper into the woods.

"DJ was probably onto something." Gwen said, breaking away from the shrinking group.

"Where you going, bra?" Geoff called after the goth girl.

"Away."

"Why?" Geoff asked. "You're welcome to come chill with us if you want to!"

"I'd rather not."

"Now our trio's down to two." Geoff said with a sigh of disappointment.

"Pasty's right, bro." Duncan said, nudging Geoff in the ribs. "This is probably one of those challenges where safety _isn't_ in numbers."

* * *

**Confessional**

" _You know, I'm kind of starting to get the feeling that Gwen doesn't like me." Geoff said, mildly disappointed. Then he brightened and smiled again. "Nah, I'm just imagining it! Bra's totally chill."_

* * *

"Hey Mike, Scott and I were thinking of teaming up and hunting together. After all, three heads are better than one, right?" Bridgette asked with a smile at her friend.

Mike looked mildly uncomfortable at the blonde's suggestion. Glancing around at the other hunters quickly, Mike shrugged noncommittally.

"What's up, Mike?" Bridgette asked, concerned.

"Time's up! Time to get your hunting game on!" Chris announced, releasing the teens.

"I – uh – have an idea!" Mike announced desperately, sprinting towards the treeline with his paintball gun in hand. "I'll see you guys later!"

"Oh. Okay." Bridgette said, looking mildly disappointed.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I had to get away from Bridgette. I just need some space to figure things out." Mike said, as though he was trying to convince the confessional camera that he wasn't a bad person for ditching his friend. "I'm just not sure if the Bridgette I know is the real Bridgette. Because I'm starting to think she's not as nice as I thought when I first met her, and if she isn't, then I don't know if I still want to be friends with her."_

* * *

"We should work in teams." Beth said. "Because, after all, two heads are better than one, right?"

"I like the way you think, girl." LeShawna said with a nod.

"That seems like a good plan." Harold agreed. "That way we'll be twice as alert and we'll double our chances of finding the other teams' deer. What do you think, Tyler?"

When the uber-nerd said his name, the jock in the red track suit began to panic. His doe-brown eyes went wider than before, and he quickly drew a big breath. "Uhhh. . . I think, actually, we'll cover more ground separately!"

And without another word, Tyler sprinted off into the woods and didn't look back.

* * *

**Confessional**

_Alejandro sat in the confessional, smirking. "Well that was peculiar. Tyler seems as though he has something on his mind. I must find out what's going on there and use it."_

* * *

Moving through the undergrowth, Zoey had her gun raised and was scoping out a small clearing through the sight when she caught a flash of white. There was movement, and another flash of white as she followed her target, pausing a moment when she saw DJ standing on all fours, antlers atop his head and a fluffy white tail strapped to his pants.

Waiting him through the scope for a moment, Zoey had her finger on the trigger and was about to shoot.

But when DJ leaned down and started grazing, the redhead paused, making a confused face as she lowered her gun momentarily, regarding the other teen with a look of bewilderment as she tried to affirm that she wasn't just seeing things.

Her stunned expression remained for a moment as she witnessed DJ take another bite of grass, her mouth agape.

Taking a deep breath, Zoey shook her head, trying to distract herself from DJ's strange behaviour and raising her gun, regarding the teenage male through the cope once again. Lining up her shot once more, she paused.

"Oh but he's so cute." she whispered to herself, using the scope of her gun to check out DJ's muscular shoulders and generally attractive physique.

He really was attractive, Zoey thought as she lowered her gun once more. Definitely more attractive than at least half of the guys at her high school, and he was nice too! The guys that she'd been to school with were all humongous jerks who liked to street race down main street every Friday night, and they weren't always friendly to those who weren't into it. Ah, small town charm.

"Focus, Zoey!" the redhead whispered to herself, raising her gun yet again and lining up a shot with the scope.

But she still didn't fire. Instead, she leaned forward, trying to get as close as she could to her target to ensure the most accurate shot.

 _CRACK_!

She stepped on a twig and snapped it in half, immediately getting DJ's attention. Holding her breath and keeping absolutely still, she prayed he wouldn't bolt, but alas he did, bounding on all fours off into the woods. She fired a few shots after him, but he was moving too fast for her, and had disappeared into the undergrowth by the time her paintballs exploded against the treeline.

"Darn." Zoey said to herself, secretly glad that she hadn't actually shot her new crush.

* * *

Gwen was almost caught off-guard when she saw a head of brown hair with a camouflage hat atop it. Catching her breath, she ducked behind a tree as fast as she could. Keeping perfectly still, she stood with her eyes closed, hardly breathing in the hopes that the hunter she'd seen hadn't noticed her and would just pass her by.

After a moment, she heard footsteps getting uncomfortably close to her hiding spot, and with her breath in her throat, she slid down the trunk of the tree and began to crawl, prone, through the bushes and towards safety.

Risking a glance, she paused and peeked out through the undergrowth at the hunter who was nearby, but all she could see was tan arms and a blue shirt. Not wanting to get too close, she continued on her way through the bushes trying to escape the hunter.

What she didn't expect was to come face to face with a nesting duck.

A very angry, hostile and violent mama duck.

The bird made a frightening hissing sound, and lunged for Gwen's face with a quack. Gwen gritted her teeth to bear the pain as the duck lunged at her face a second time, and then a third, her attempts to back up only slamming her body into the trunk of a nearby bush.

"Screw this." Gwen said quietly, getting to her feet and sprinting off into the woods, desperate to escape the hissing duck.

But not without attracting the attention of the nearby hunter, and initiating a pursuit through the forest.

* * *

Bridgette turned to her ginger-haired boyfriend. "Do you think Mike has been acting kind of weird lately?"

"Dunno." Scott said with a shrug. "Sure. Why?"

"I'm just wondering if. . ." Bridgette trailed off.

"Wondering what?" Scott prompted the girl.

"Nothing important."

"You can tell me anything. You know that, right?" Scott said with a gentle smile at the girl.

"It's not really my place to tell. . ." Bridgette said, rubbing her arm awkwardly and offering her boyfriend a smile.

"I won't tell anyone. You can trust me." Scott said with a smile, before pausing and looking slightly disappointed. "But if you don't think you can trust me with the secret, that's okay."

"Oh, I trust you completely!" Bridgette assured the ginger haired teen. "It's just not my secret to tell. You understand, right?"

Scott sighed sadly. "Yeah, I get it."

Bridgette took one look at the devastated look on Scott's face and caved. "Fine, but you have to promise me that you'll never tell another soul about this."

"Cross my heart and hope to die." Scott said, crossing his fingers behind his back.

"Okay." Bridgette said, hesitating for a moment and biting her lip. "Mike has multiple personality disorder. He's been acting weird around me lately, and I was wondering if maybe it's just another of his personalities."

"Could be." Scott said, uncrossing his fingers behind his back.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Interesting." Scott said with a smirk. "Very interesting."_

* * *

After Tyler had gone off on his own, the rest of the Bass had agreed that teaming up was probably not the best option and had all gone their separate ways to cover the most ground in the woods.

"Gosh, there is a lot of ground to cover in these woods." Harold commented to himself as he continued down a trail. He could have sworn that he'd seen the same tree with the fork in it an hour ago, but Camp Wawanakwa was a pretty dilapidated place with an unknown history, so he wouldn't have been surprised if there were several trees with forks stuck in them.

"What took you so long?" Heather asked in a tone of annoyance, glaring at the uber-geek.

"I was supposed to come and find you?" Harold asked in confusion, giving the queen bee a blank look.

"Well obviously." Heather snapped, looking extremely displeased. Glancing around, her frown lines deepened. "Where's Beth?"

Harold's mouth was hanging agape as he shrugged. "Probably hunting."

"Ugh, _idiot_!" Heather rolled her eyes. "Well we'll have to make do without her for now."

"Why? What are we doing?"

" _I'm_ staying right here. _You're_ going to get me some berries."

"But I'm supposed to be hunting-" Harold began to protest.

" _Now_!" Heather demanded, shooting the uber-geek a death glare.

Harold sighed in defeat. "Okay."

* * *

Tyler lined up his shot. The dark haired musician was perfectly in his sights. He had a clear shot. Taking a deep breath, his index finger resting on the trigger, he prepared to fire.

But when he pulled the trigger, it didn't shoot.

Bewildered, Tyler pulled at the trigger again, but still no paintballs fired. He tried to rattle the trigger but nothing was firing. Shaking the gun, he tried to force the trigger to go, but still nothing happened.

Suddenly, there were several _splat_!s, and Trent bolted, fleeing from the purple paint that was flying around the clearing as Izzy swung in on a vine, lighting up the trees as she called out some gleeful war cries. Swinging back and forth in the clearing, Izzy continued to light up all the trees just for fun.

"HA! Take that you oxygen-producing freaks!" Izzy cried out, letting go of the vine-mid air and catching onto another one that was hanging nearby, swinging off in Trent's direction. "You're next, Trent!"

Tyler lowered his paintball gun again and put his face close to it to inspect it.

"Haha! I've got you now!" Alejandro said, suddenly appearing in the clearing, pointing his gun at Tyler and looking through the scope. After a second, he lowered his gun. "You're not a deer. My apologies, amigo."

"Oh man, you scared me for a moment there!" Tyler said with a grin, standing up. "I thought I was a total goner!"

"No worries, no harm was done." Alejandro said kindly.

Tyler relaxed his grip on his gun. "Have you shot anyone yet?"

"Not yet." Alejandro said.

"Me either." Tyler said with a sigh, lowering his gun to rest against his thigh. "I think my gun's jammed. It won't fire."

"That's a shame, amigo." Alejandro said with a frown. "Would you like me to take a look?"

"Sure." Tyler said with a shrug, surrendering his weapon to the rival team's hunter.

Alejandro hooked his own gun over his shoulder and turned Tyler's gun over in his hands, regarding it with an interested expression. With a small almost-victorious smile, Alejandro discovered the problem. "You seem to have left the safety on."

"Oh, really? Thanks dude!" Tyler said with a grateful grin. "Thanks for helping me! You are one cool dude!"

"Anything for a friend." Alejandro said, handing the gun back towards the hunter it belonged to.

"I totally owe you, one, dude!" Tyler said with a grin. Unfortunately, as Tyler accepted the gun, Alejandro _accidentally_ touched the trigger and fired a paintball right into Tyler's thigh.

The jock cried out in agony as he dropped to the ground. "OW! Charlie horse _!_ "

"Are you alright?" Alejandro asked, feigning concern to cover his amusement. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean for it to go off. Is there anything I can do?"

"Oh no, I'm good." Tyler assured him, not suspecting a thing as he got to his feet, observing the orange paint splatter on his thigh. "I'm used to getting hit by stuff. I play a lot of full contact sports, you know."

"I still feel terrible. This is all my fault, I shouldn't have taken the safety off until the gun was safely in your hands." Alejandro said, looking apologetic.

"Nah, man, it's all good." Tyler said, getting to his feet and grinning to show Alejandro that he was fine. "I recover really quickly."

"Well, I wish you the best of luck in the competition." Alejandro said, dipping his head to the other boy before disappearing into the forest with his paintball gun.

* * *

Cameron was moving through the woods, terrified that he was going to get shot by some person or other.

Suddenly, there was the sound of footsteps – fast moving footsteps coming towards him. His heart racing and his eyes wide with fear, he pressed his body up against a tree to hide from whoever it was that was coming through the woods in his direction.

The individual didn't notice him as they sprinted past as fast as they possibly could, weaving in and out of the trees. Cameron held his breath as he glanced after the runner after they went by him, and saw another deer – Trent – sprinting as fast as he could.

Not hearing any other sounds from the direction that Trent had just come, Cameron turned back to lean against the tree and was confronted with a rather terrifying sight.

"Boo!" Izzy said, giggling playfully as she hung upside down from a vine in a manner that quite reminded Cameron of Spiderman. Or at least, it would have, had the girl's sudden appearance not scared the poor bubble boy half to death.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!" Cameron shrieked, collapsing momentarily against the side of the tree, clutching his chest because of how fast his heart was now beating. But it only took a moment before he was able to regain enough of a response from his brain before he scrambled to his feet and took off running from the ginger haired psycho hosebeast.

"Hahaha!" Izzy cried out gleefully as she swung closer to the tree then used her legs like a spring to push off, gaining momentum as she swung to another vine, abandoning her former prey – Trent – in order to pursue her teammate Cameron instead. Giggling maniacally, she fired a few paintballs in the direction that Cameron was running as she swung after him. "Izzy loves to chase! Haha!"

* * *

As Alejandro made his way through the woods, trying to locate some of his targets, he spied movement through the trees. Narrowing his eyes, he raised his gun and hastily moved forward to investigate, making sure to stay out of sight.

Glancing from his hiding place, Alejandro was disappointed to see another hunter – Tyler , again– instead of a deer. Lowering his paintball gun, he regarded the other teen with a bewildered expression.

Tyler had halted in his tracks and suddenly pressed himself against a tree as though to hide. Tyler peeked out from behind the tree to check on his target, and Alejandro was even more confused by what he saw. Tyler was supposed to be a hunter – so why was he _hiding?_ "

"What is he doing?" Alejandro said to himself aloud as he watched the teen in the red jogging suit.

But before Alejandro had time to ponder what in the world Tyler was doing, he got something of an answer.

"What is taking so long?!" Heather's voice snapped, and Alejandro saw a few flashes of white above the undergrowth – Heather's antlers – as the queen bee moved closer to her target.

Alejandro smirked with satisfaction as he realized that Heather was indeed a deer for the duration of the game. "How very interesting."

"I'm collecting berries like you told me to -" Harold's voice responded, but he was cut off by the sound of a slap of flesh against flesh and then small thuds of many tiny objects – presumably the berries he'd been collecting for Heather – hit the ground. "Gosh."

"Did you find Beth yet?" Heather snapped again.

"No, I've been looking for berries for you like you told me." Harold's voice responded again.

"Shut it, dweeb!"

But instead of firing at the raven haired beauty – who he didn't have a clear shot of, so would have been a mistake to do so anyway, Alejandro was distracted by Tyler, who was looking increasingly distressed as Harold and Heather neared his hiding spot.

"Heather-" Harold's voice began, but he wasn't permitted to finish his sentence.

"Shut up!" Heather snapped, and the antlers halted in place for a moment. "Don't you remember our _little agreement_?"

Alejandro couldn't resist the smirk that temporarily graced his attractive face at the threat in Heather's tone. But it vanished completely when Tyler interrupted Harold and Heather's conversation by tripping on a tree root and stumbling into the clearing.

"Tyler?" Harold asked in confusion.

"Oh – uh – hey guys!" Tyler said quickly, and Alejandro could hear the nervousness in his voice as he spoke to his teammates. "I – uh – good to – uh – good luck!"

And without another word, Tyler sprinted off in the other direction, vanishing from sight.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Heather and Harold have a '_ little' _arrangement?" Alejandro asked the confessional camera, looking intrigued. "Tyler seems rather nervous, almost as though he knows something he shouldn't. Perhaps Heather and Harold are secretly dating?" Alejandro made a face at his own suggestion. "That manipulative minx would never – ahh, no, no, no. Patience."_

* * *

Fleeing from the angry mama duck and a rival team's hunter, Gwen dodged behind trees as she made her way through the forest as the occasional paintball splattered against the trees around her. Someone was aiming for her and from the glimpses of purple paint she kept catching out of the corner of her eyes as she ran, she was willing to wager that it was a Thrashing Bear on her tail.

Running as fast as she can, she veered right and hurried down a short path, trying to minimize the sound she was making crashing through the bushes in a desperate bid to escape.

After several feet, the splatter of paint against the trees began to get fainter. Still desperate to not get shot, she quickly ditched the path and continued into the forest, relieved that the shots were growing fainter.

Still intent to put some distance between her and her hunter, she burst into a clearing and suddenly her world came to a crashing halt.

Or at least her body did. Her foot catching on a raised root, Gwen's body twisted off course and she hit the ground with a painful _thud!_ Struggling to catch her breath, which had been forcibly taken from her, she put her hands on the ground, her head still reeling.

"Aw crap!" Gwen said to herself when she tried to move into a sitting position and pain shot up her leg.

* * *

"Two hours of sneaking around in the woods and I haven't shot a darned thing. What kind of messed up person actually does this for fun?" LeShawna said aloud to herself as she made her way through the forest with her gun that was still fully loaded with Bass orange paint.

The signature click-clack sound of a spray paint bottle being shaken suddenly caught her attention, and she halted in place, peering through the bushes at the perpetrator of the sound.

Squinting, she found the other person was standing too far away for her to see them clearly. Eyeing them through the scope didn't help much.

With a shrug, she lined up her shot and fired, hitting her target, who cried out angrily at being shot. With a sigh, she approached the person and was disappointed to find she'd shot one of her own teammates.

"I knew I shouldda gone to the optometrist before I came out here!" LeShawna said. "Heh, sorry about that."

"What the hell?" Duncan replied, angered that he'd been shot and by one of his own teammates at that. "You did that on purpose!"

"You're crazy." LeShawna said, narrowing her eyes in annoyance. "Look, I said I was sorry. Don't be giving me that stink-eye!"

"You shot me – you're lucky I don't have one of those things too."

"Do you want to start something, white boy?" LeShawna asked, getting up in his face.

"What if I do?" He asked, not backing down either.

"Bring it! I'll show you what's what." LeShawna said.

"Whatever." Duncan said, rolling his eyes in annoyance. "I'm out of here."

And with that, he turned and stalked off into the brush, with LeShawna calling after him. "Yeah, that's right! You walk away, tough guy!"

* * *

He'd hesitated to stop when the paint firing stopped, because he didn't trust that Izzy wasn't being sneaky, but after he heard the redhead's war cries growing fainter, indicating that she'd gone in the other direction, he let himself slow back down to a walk.

And it was a good thing he was walking, or else he might have tripped over the pretty goth girl that was sitting up against a tree, just out of plain sight at the edge of a clearing.

"Ow, watch it!" Gwen said, grimacing as she moved her leg away from the musician's path.

"Oh, hey, didn't see you there." Trent said with a small smile. Glancing down at the leaves in her hair and then noticing that she had taken off one of her knee-high boots, he frowned. "Hey, are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine." Gwen said with a nod. "But I fell and I think I twisted my ankle."

"Do you want me to help you get back to camp?" Trent offered, holding out his hand to the goth girl. "The challenge should be over soon. If we get started now, we'll have lots of time to get back."

"Okay." Gwen said with a nod. "Thanks for helping me."

"Oh, no problem. I'd do it for anyone." Trent responded.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Stupid stupid stupid!" Trent said, hitting himself in the forehead with the palm of his hand each time he said 'stupid'._

* * *

"Where have you been?!" Heather irritated tone snapped, getting the bookworm's attention. Peeking out from his hiding place where he remained with his book, he saw Heather standing over Beth with her hands on her hips, glaring down her nose at the girl. Harold stood with the duo too, a few paces behind Heather.

"I've been hunting." Beth told the queen bee, who snorted angrily.

"You were _supposed_ to come and find me!" Heather told the girl. " _Hello,_ alliance anyone?"

"Actually-" Harold began.

"Zip it, dweeb!" Heather cut him off, before snapping her fingers impatiently. "Come on, let's go."

"Okay." Beth and Harold sighed in defeated unison.

Noah was momentarily startled when someone opened fire on the trio, but relief flooded him as he realized that the paint hitting the three campers was green, so it had to have come from a gopher gun.

"Who's there?!" Heather cried out angrily, her dark eyes scanning the treeline for the culprit.

"Gracias, chika." Alejandro said with a smirk as he stepped out of the forest after having covered all three of the Bass in a reasonable amount of green paint. As Alejandro did a dramatic sweeping bow, Noah couldn't help feeling like he was watching an eel. There was just something about the Latino male that he didn't trust.

"Ugh! You!" Heather groaned, losing her temper over the attractive Latino male before her. Extending her hand to her teammates, she snapped an order. "Beth, give me your gun! _Now_!"

"Adios, chika!" Alejandro called smugly as he vanished into the treeline before Heather had the chance to snatch the gun from Beth's hands.

* * *

Hat atop his head, Mike made his way through the woods with his gun, trying to find his target. He'd seen them take off into the woods and he'd chased after them, but then they'd just up and vanished. Retracing his steps, he'd managed to find the spot where his target had veered off the trail and gone their own way.

Unfortunately, his time spent searching the woods was also time he'd spent pondering his friendship with Bridgette and Bridgette's character in general. He really wasn't sure if she was the nice, caring person he'd initially thought her to be. After what Scott had said to him the other day – it was enough to make him wonder.

Perhaps it had been a mistake to trust her, but it was too late now. She already knew his deepest, darkest secret and if she intended to use that against him – to manipulate and blackmail him with that knowledge, he couldn't stop her now.

Or maybe he hadn't made a mistake. He really wasn't sure when it came to Bridgette. She seemed like a nice, sweet girl, but lately he was having some doubts. Maybe that was the real her after all, and the game was just getting to her?

Or something?

Ugh, not knowing where he stood with her was almost as frustrating as having huge gaps in his memory from when his alternates took control.

"Nice and easy, there we go." A male voice from ahead prompted Mike to resurface from his thoughts, and he lowered into a crouch as he approached the area. Peering through the trees, he almost dropped his gun when he saw Trent and Gwen walking side by side, Trent's arm around Gwen's waist.

Bridgette had told him that Gwen liked him, and now she was with Trent? Just like Bridgette had told him that Zoey was with Trent and then she was flirting with DJ.

Did she just get her lovers crossed, or had she give him false information on purpose?

Just what exactly was Bridgette playing at?

* * *

The hiss of spray paint filled the forest as Duncan spray painted a skull on yet another of the trees in the woods of Camp Wawanakwa.

"Isn't your _own_ team playing with orange paint?" Courtney's voice asked as the CIT regarded the punk from several feet away, her hands on her hips.

"I'm flattered you care enough to know what colour paint my team is using." Duncan said with a smirk.

Courtney rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Well I'm heading back. This stupid game must be almost over by now."

"You're going the wrong way." Duncan told the girl in a very matter-of-fact manner as she made to continue in the direction he'd come from.

"Um excuse me?" Courtney replied, almost offended that he would doubt her judgement. "I was a CIT, remember? I have a natural sense of direction. Camp is this way."

Courtney pointed past Duncan, but he shook his head. "No, it's that way."

Both teens rolled their eyes in annoyance at one another and moved to continue on in the direction they were intending to head when they collided, somehow managing to tangle up both sets of antlers.

"Very funny." Courtney said, struggling with her antlers. "Now let me go."

"Hey princess, this isn't my idea of fun either."

"Great, Duncan." Courtney said, clearly annoyed by their predicament.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Sure, we could have taken those lame-o antler hats off but miss counsellor-in-training would probably go blab to Chris and have us both disqualified."_ _Duncan said. "And hey, I kinda liked it."_

* * *

"Now what?!" Courtney asked in annoyance as the duo continued to struggle to free their antlers.

"Wanna make out?" Duncan asked with a smile.

* * *

"I wouldn't go that way if I were you."

The soft spoken voice scared Noah half to death. "Ah! Oh, it's just you."

"I foresee misfortune down this path." Dawn told him, falling into step beside him.

"Good for you." Noah said, the disinterest in his tone apparent.

"I would not advise following this trail-"

"Then don't." Noah said sharply.

Dawn shrugged. "Suit yourself."

And without another word, she vanished into the undergrowth and was gone.

It crossed his mind for about half a second that perhaps he oughtn't have been so stubborn and should have actually listened to her, as Scott appeared out of nowhere and opened fire on him. But then he heard a second paintball gun firing in the woods near to where Dawn had vanished and he suspected that despite her 'predictions', she had not fared any better than he had.

"Okay, I'm hit!" Noah said as Scott continued to fire paintballs at him, exploding against his body one after another and drenching him in purple paint. "You can stop now!"

But it wasn't until one of the paintballs struck Noah in a very sensitive place that made him gasp for breath and drop to his knees that Scott chuckled with amusement and ceased his onslaught against the bookworm.

Suddenly a nearby loudspeaker crackled to life.

" _Attention human-wildlife and hunters, please report back to camp! It's time to show your hides and tally up the scores."_

* * *

"Swinging on vines. Twisting your ankle. Shooting yourself in the thigh. _Tut tut tut_. Do you know what I see here?" Chris asked, walking in front of the teens – several of which were drenched in paint. "I see a very undisciplined group. I see a disgraceful mess. I see a massive waste of paint product! And I have to say . . . that was _awesome_!" The whole group let out a unified sigh of relief. "When you guys opened fire on your own team, wicked TV guys!"

"Hey, where are Duncan and Courtney?" Harold asked, but a nearby Sadie nudged him in the ribs and pointed to the approaching pair, who were still locked together by their antlers.

"Oh, this is too much." Gwen said with a smirk.

"Duncan, you sly dog you." Cody said with a chuckle of amusement.

"What can I say? The girl can't keep her antlers off me." Duncan said, smirking with amusement. He wasn't prepared for Courtney to aim a kick at his family jewels for said offence, and was unable to block in time. His voice got high pitched and his eyes began to water. "Can't even bend over."

"Easy Courtney." Chris said. "Our medical tent is really only equipped for one and Gwen's ankle is pretty messed up."

"The nurse said it wasn't that bad!" Gwen said, looking alarmed by Chris's statement.

"There you go." Bridgette said as she and Duncan's teammate Geoff helped the duo untangled their antlers.

"Hmph." Courtney said, turning her back to Duncan with an annoyed expression. Glancing at her teammate, she smiled. "Thanks Bridgette."

"Anytime." The surfer said with a smile.

"Well, since five members of the Killer Bass are dripping in paint, and most of them aren't even deer, I think we know who we'll be seeing at the campfire ceremony tonight." Chris said.

"What's the matter, amigo?" Alejandro asked Tyler, who was shifty-eyed and looked extremely nervous. "You seem like you have something on your mind – would you like to get it off your chest?"

"I don't know dude." Tyler said, shrugging with poorly feigned nonchalance.

"I helped you fix your gun. You could consider it owing me one?"

"Since only one member of the Thrashing Bears is covered in paint and it's their own team's paint, I declare them the winners of this challenge." Chris said, evoking cheers from the Bears team. "You're off to a hunting camp shindig! Bass, I'll see you at the campfire ceremony."

"Harold's a traitor to our team!" Tyler blurted out. "I overheard it with my own ears!"

"Say what now?" LeShawna asked, rounding on the uber-dweeb.

"I'm not! I swear!" Harold said, holding up his hands in surrender.

Tyler sighed with relief and turned to Alejandro. "Thanks dude, now I feel a lot better."

"Any time, amigo." Alejandro said with a grin.

"I wasn't! I swear!" Harold said.

"Just how do you know that he's a traitor?" LeShawna asked, rounding on the jock.

"I overheard him talking to Heather about it!" Tyler said.

"I was telling him not to do it again!" Heather quickly said, glaring Alejandro, who was standing beside Tyler smirking.

"You knew, _Queenie_?" LeShawna rounded on Heather.

"Yes, and I was handling it." Heather snapped.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _That handsome jerk!" Heather ranted, clearly ticked off that Alejandro had messed up her alliance. "This is all his fault! How dare he mess with my plans? He is SO going down!"_

* * *

"I mean, seriously? Opening fire on our own team?" Heather asked, looking around at her teammates as they sat in front of the fire. "It's like you're _trying_ to lose!"

"There are only eight marshmallows on this plate. When I call your name, come up and claim your marshmallow. The camper-"

"Who does not receive a marshmallow must immediately return to the dock of shame, catch the boat of loser and leave. Can't we just get this over with?" Gwen asked, cutting off Chris to go through the elimination spiel at double the speed.

"Fine, whatever. Spoil the moment." Chris said, annoyed as he began calling names and tossing marshmallows out to the teens. "Geoff. DJ."

The two teenage males caught their marshmallows with ease and looked relieved.

"LeShawna."

One more camper saved.

"Duncan."

One less camper at risk.

"Beth."

The farm girl caught her marshmallow with a look of relief.

"Heather, Tyler, Harold and Gwen, you are our bottom four. Two of you received votes tonight – but which two? Harold, you betrayed your team. Gwen, you twisted your ankle pretty badly and could be more of a burden than a help in future challenges-"

"Gee, thanks for pointing that out." The goth said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Heather, you have been keeping some pretty big secrets from your team. And Tyler, you spilled the beans on the whole shebang. Each one of you deserves to go home tonight."

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

"Gwen, you are safe."

The goth sighed with relief.

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

"Tyler, you are safe."

The jock caught his marshmallow with a look of relief.

"Heather and Harold, you are our bottom two tonight. But the one going home tonight is. . ."

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

"Harold. Heather, you are safe."

Heather stood up as she caught her marshmallow, incensed by her teammates' having voted for her.

"You are all lucky! Very lucky!" Heather snapped, glaring at her teammates accusingly, trying to determine which of the lot had voted for her.

"Harold, get your things and make your way to the dock of shame. You'll find the boat of losers waiting for you there."

Harold sighed with defeat. "Okay."

* * *

As Harold packed his possessions, Tyler walked into the cabin. The rest of the teens were at the mess hall, but Tyler wanted to talk to Harold and apologize for spilling his secret.

"I gotta say, thank you for telling everyone the truth." Harold said, dipping his head in gratitude.

"What?" Tyler asked in confusion.

"Heather was forcing me to go against my moral code and made me do and say things I didn't feel was right. She told me that everyone would vote me off if they knew – she was right, but I made the mistake of sacrificing my honour for money. I'm so ashamed."

"It's cool, dude. Sorry for ratting you out. I'm not good with secrets. To the extreme."

"It's okay. You have helped preserve my honour." Harold said with a smile. "I thought I was being honourable when I let Sadie out of the freezer after she got locked in, but in the end it still affected my moral compass negatively."

"Wait, that's all you did to _betray the team_?"

"Yeah. Didn't you know?"

"Dude, that's not betraying your team. That's helping out a person in need. Doesn't matter if they're on the other team or not, dude."

"I should have known that Heather was manipulating me." Harold said with a sigh. "I should go."

"Sorry about everything, dude!"

"Me too." Harold said with a smile. "And for the record, I hope you win."

"Thanks dude, me too."

And with that, the dweeb was gone from the cabin, on his way to the dock of shame.

* * *

**The Votes:**

" _LeShawna shot me and we lost. She should be the one kicked off tonight." Duncan said, still angry about getting shot. "I vote for miss ghetto_

Static.

" _Sure, Harold betrayed our team but Heather kept it a secret from everyone. Plus she's probably the bossiest, nastiest person in the game. I vote for her." Gwen said._

Static.

" _I vote for myself. I let Heather compromise my honour. I should go home." Harold said._

Static.

" _That scrawny punk white boy had the nerve to threaten me and get all up in my face, but I vote for Heather. She should have told the team when she found out that Harold was a traitor."_

Static.

" _I vote for Harold. Dude is a traitor – Tyler said so himself." Geoff said._

Static.

" _Heather told me to vote for Harold." Beth said. "But what I don't get is why she let Harold be in the alliance if he's a traitor to the team."_

Static.

" _I feel bad for being the one to rat him out to the team, but he's a traitor, so I vote for Harold." Tyler said._

Static.

" _Ugh, Tyler is so going down for this. Messing up my alliance – who does he think he is?!" Heather asked, angrily. "Now I have to cover my own butt by for voting for Harold. While he's still of use to me! Urgh!"_

Static.

" _I don't know, man. Betraying your own team is pretty whack." DJ said. "I guess I vote for Harold."_

**Votes:**

LeShawna: 1  
Heather: 2  
Harold: 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eliminated so far:
> 
> 37th: Katie  
> 36th: Staci  
> 35th: Sierra  
> 34th: Sam  
> 33rd: Eva  
> 32nd: Owen  
> 31st: B  
> 30th/29th: Lindsay & Ezekiel  
> 28th: Justin  
> 27th: Brick  
> 26th: Dakota  
> 25th: Anne Maria  
> 24th: Harold


	15. Who Can You Trust

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Screaming Gophers: Dawn, Alejandro, Noah, Cody, Trent, Zoey, Jo
> 
> Killer Bass: Duncan, LeShawna, Geoff, Gwen, Heather, Beth, Tyler, DJ
> 
> Thrashing Bears: Sadie, Cameron, Courtney, Scott, Lightning, Izzy, Bridgette, Mike

"Last time on Total Drama Island, the campers showed their colours in a game of paintball. After a little 'friendly' teasing in the Bass cabin over Harold's dirty underwear, the teens took to the woods, where they became the hunters and the hunted. Bridgette betrayed Mike's trust by spilling the beans on his secret to Scott and Trent came to the rescue when Gwen sprained her ankle. Tempers were flaring when LeShawna opened fire on her own team and shot Duncan, and Duncan got his antlers locked up with Courtney's. In the end, it was the Bass on the chopping block – _again_ , and Harold got the boot after Tyler told everyone about how Harold betrayed the team. Will the Bass prevail or will their luck remain elusive? Find out today on Total Drama Island!"

_**Cue theme song.** _

Pressing the red-orange mug against the metal lever, Duncan watched as the brown liquid funnelled into the cup from the machine. He couldn't say the coffee actually tasted good, but it certainly helped to chase the taste of Chef's cooking, which was considerably worse.

Glancing around quickly to make sure Chef wasn't looking his way, he inconspicuously grabbed a spare mug from the shelf next to the coffee makers, and shoved it into his pocket. Putting his cup back on his tray and grasping at the sides of the tray, Duncan turned to head to his seat when he suddenly found a freckle-faced Latina girl glaring at him from the other side of his tray.

"I saw that."

"Saw what?" Duncan asked, his innocent facade ruined by his satisfied smirk.

"How can you just _steal_ a mug?" Courtney asked, her eyes narrowed as she looked at the punk.

"Because it's cool looking and I don't have one." Duncan said, before giving a little laugh and corrected himself. " _Didn't_ have one, that is."

Duncan made his way to where the Bass were sitting and took a seat at the end of the table, and Courtney followed him. She didn't sit, but instead stood at the end of the table and leaned down closer to him, speaking in a hushed tone.

"But you might get kicked off!"

"Awwwww. And here I thought you didn't care about me."

"I don't." Courtney snapped, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at the punk. "Get over yourself."

"Whatever, you dig me." Duncan said, rolling his eyes and continuing to smirk.

"Ugh! Why do I even bother?!" Courtney snapped.

* * *

"Hi. Chris here. Sometimes teens just don't get along." Chris told a nearby camera as he walked through the woods by Camp Wawanakwa. So the producers and I thought that the best way to work through the group friction would be to exploit it for laughs. This is gonna be awesome!"

* * *

"So, last's week's challenge really highlighted some serious Bass issues." Chris pointed out, glancing at the Killer Bass team members, the majority of which were glaring at one another. Then he glanced at the Gophers, where Jo was glaring at Alejandro, and the Bears, where Mike was looking uncomfortable beside Bridgette, and Courtney was eyeing Scott suspiciously. "And I'm sensing a little hostility with the Gophers and Bears too, so this week's challenge is going to be centred around building trust, because all good things begin with a little trust!"

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I trusted Trent once." Gwen said. "He left me buried alive on the beach."_

Static.

" _Of course." Mike said, sighing with frustration. "Just when I start to question whether or not I can trust Bridgette, Chris makes us do a trust challenge."_

* * *

"There are three major challenges that will have to be completed by teams of two from each team. Normally we like to let campers choose their own partners, but not today! More fun for me!" Chris gloated as he addressed the teens. Trent and Cody, Heather and Gwen, and Courtney and Scott are our teams for the first challenge – an extreme free-hand rock-climbing adventure!"

"Extreme!" Tyler cheered, pumping his fist victoriously.

"Ugh." Gwen said, casting a sideways glance at her partner.

"Here's your belay and harness." Chris said, tossing a set to each of the aforementioned pairs.

Gwen caught the equipment for the Bass, but Heather immediately snatched it from her grasp. The goth glared at the queen bee. "Hey! What's your damage?!"

"If you think I'm letting _you_ hold me up, you're nuts." Heather replied.

"You won't be holding her up _exactly_." Chris said, holding up another set of the equipment to demonstrate how it worked. "One camper pulls the slack through the belay as their partner climbs. If the climber falls, the belay will stop them from crashing. The catch? Both the side and the base of the mountain are rigged with a few _minor_ distractions: rusty nails, slippery oil slicks, some mild explosives and a few other surprises."

"Extreme!" Tyler cheered enthusiastically before blinking with the realization that none of the aforementioned surprises would be even remotely fun, and quickly corrected himself. "-Ly not extreme!"

"The person on belay must also harness their partner – it's all about trust here, people." Chris said, before his face took on a very serious expression. "And remember – _never_ let go of the rope! Your partner's life depends on it!"

"Excuse me," Gwen asked, putting her hand up as though she was in school. "Can we switch partners? I really don't feel like being dropped on my head today."

"Puh-lease! As much as I _love_ your company, I'm not going to throw the challenge just to kill you. Yet. Now spread 'em."

"So, looks like we're partners." Scott said, smirking at Courtney.

"Looks like," Courtney said with a grimace. "I was a CIT so I already have belaying experience. I'll harness you up and you climb."

"Yes ma'am." Scott nodded, still smirking.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I think Scott's up to something and I'm going to find out what it is." Courtney vowed. "Besides, I'm not sure if Scott could even figure out how the harness is supposed to go on – let alone put it on properly. I'm not going to risk my life for someone who doesn't know what they're doing."_

Static.

" _I like me a bossy woman." Scott said,_ _shrugging a moment later_ _. "_ _Bridgette is expendable."_

* * *

"I've never tried this before." Cody said as teammate Trent helped harness him up. "Have you?"

"No," Trent said, shrugging. "But there's a first time for everything, right?"

"Yeah." Cody said with a nervous laugh.

"There! You're all hooked up!" Heather announced, stepping back from her partner to study her handiwork.

Gwen looked down to check out the harness, and made a face. "What's the second rope for?"

"It's a backup line." Heather said, smirking.

"What are you smiling about?" Gwen asked, glaring.

"Nothing!" Heather said, holding up her hands innocently. "I'm just _really_ happy we got on this challenge together."

Gwen didn't look convinced.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _It's all her fault for messing with me." Heather told the confessional. "I have got a doctorate in revenge and humiliation!"_

* * *

The challenge began and the three climbers: Cody, Gwen and Scott, made their way to the mountain to start their climb.

Scott quickly took the lead, but Gwen and Cody weren't too far behind. Her hands searching for a suitable grip, Gwen pulled herself up the rock ledge, quickly taking the lead while Scott and Cody sought more stable handholds.

Suddenly, she triggered a tripwire, and there was a small explosion that sent the goth flying off the rock face, screaming as she plummeted, surely to her death.

But her body suddenly stopped mid-fall, and Heather's voice called from the base of the mountain. "It's okay, I've got you!"

Cody chuckled nervously, glancing down at his partner for the challenge. "H-hey Trent?"

"Yeah?"

"Got a firm grip on that rope?"

"Don't worry, man, I won't let you fall."

Cody nodded, giving another nervous chuckle before he grabbed another ledge and began to pull himself higher.

"I promised surprises." Chris reminded them, moving towards the grounded partners with a supersoaker. "Habanero pepper sauce, anyone?"

He opened fire on Heather first, who groaned in irritation and let go of the rope to rub her eyes. "Ugh! What the heck, Chris?!"

Gwen screamed as she began to plummet once more, the breath knocked out of her when she hit the ground with a _THUD_! Heather blinked in shock, realizing her mistake. Then Chris turned his water gun on Trent.

"Cod – Ahh, that burns!" Trent exclaimed, letting go of his rope as well, mid warning. Cody, unaware of what was taking place below, heard his teammate call his name and turned to see what he wanted, not realizing his best handhold was slick with oil, and just as Gwen was picking herself up to try again, Cody hit the ground beside her.

* * *

"Why are you moving so slowly?!" Courtney called out to Scott, clearly annoyed with her teammate.

"Doing the best I can, _ma'am_!" Scott called down to her. "Don't want to lose my grip and follow _their_ examples!"

"Come on, Gwen!" Heather called out, switching the second rope – the so-called backup line – to her other hand and giving it a hard tug. "You don't want to fall _behind_!"

As the fabric of Gwen's skirt was torn from her body, the other teens stared on. Gwen glanced down to see what had happened and screamed out in horror when she saw her skirt had been ripped off and had landed on Scott's face.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Pappy always said that if life gives you lemons," Scott began, smirking deviously. "You smash 'em up with a big stick."_

* * *

"Well, you don't see that every day." Duncan commented, amused, as he observed his teammate's situation.

"No, you don't, my man, no, you don't." Chris said in agreement.

Courtney cast a dirty look at Heather. "That was so mean!"

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I'm starting to think that what Harold said is true. Heather does seem kinda mean." Tyler said. "To the extreme."_

* * *

"What's your point?" Heather sneered as Courtney's partner began to scream.

Looking up, Courtney realized that Gwen's skirt had landed on Scott's face, and when he'd remove the item obstructing his vision and realized what it was, he began to scream and lost his balance, dragging an unprepared Courtney towards the mountain, where her leg got tangled up in the rope and she was hoisted into the air by her ankle.

When Courtney collided with Scott, the ginger haired farmboy stopped falling, but found the freckle-faced brunette glaring at him, her arms crossed but her intimidating expression lessened by the fact that she was also hanging upside down on the mountain.

"This is all your fault." she accused, still glaring.

" _Sorry_." Scott said, not sounding very sorry at all.

Meanwhile, Gwen snatched the material from where it had caught on a nail and was holding it to cover her purple skull panties. Looking down at everyone gathered below, some who were blatantly staring at her backside, some who were covering their eyes out of politeness, and some who were still stunned.

"Ah, screw it." Gwen said, rolling her eyes. Holding the torn fabric from her skirt between her teeth and focusing on the climb before her, she quickly pulled ahead.

"Hey, geekwad, focus!" Jo yelled from the base of the mountain.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I wasn't distracted, I swear." Cody said, fidgeting in the confessional. After a moment, a gap-toothed grin spread across his face. "Ok, yeah, I totally was. But come on! Gwen was in her_ underwear! _"_

* * *

"And it looks like the Bass have won the first challenge." Chris said as Gwen reached the top of the mountainside.

Gwen stood up and upon hearing Chris's announcement, grinned. "Yeah!" She said, pumping her fist in the air before realizing that like her hands, the remains of her skirt were high above her head. "Oh crap!"

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I thought Scott seemed like a strong player." Courtney said. "But he's been giving the other teams really easy wins and I'm starting to think that he's throwing challenges."_

* * *

Three tables were set up in the mess hall with an announcer's podium in the centre with a spotlight focused on each of the tables and the podium. A stuntman back-flipped to the podium and a moment later Chris stood up from behind it and brushed himself off.

"Round two: the. EXTREME. Cooking. Challenge!" Chris said, his arms up in the air to emphasize the excitement of the challenge.

All six teens couldn't help noticing the stuntman crawling away behind one of the tables as the attention was on Chris.

"Each team must choose who cooks and who eats."

"Oh, can I do it? Can I do it? I got an A in Chef Class at my high school!" Beth said, putting her hand up as she spoke to her partner Geoff, almost like she was trying to get a teacher's attention.

Geoff tipped his cowboy hat back with his index finger and gave a shrug. "Go for it, brah."

"Oh, yay!" Beth said, clearly excited for this.

"Weighing the risks of this, I think I should -" Cameron began, pushing his glasses further up his nose.

"Oh! I'll cook! I'll cook!" Izzy said excitedly.

"Izzy, I don't-" Cameron began to protest but Chris cut him off.

"So Beth is cooking for Bass and Izzy for the Bears. Dawn, Jo, which one of you will be cooking for the Gophers?"

"Do I look like I do any of that frou-frou girly stuff?" Jo asked, raising an eyebrow at Chris.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Dawn's been riding on my last nerve for quite some time now. She doesn't play to win and I'm the only one on the team who can see it." Jo said. "And so help me if she screws this one up for us too."_

* * *

"Today you will be preparing Fugu Sashimi, the traditional Japanese poisonous blowfish." Chris said, ringing a gong right behind the contestants as Chef rolled out a tank containing three blowfish. Pulling down a projector screen, Chris used a pointer to show them a diagram of a blowfish's anatomy. "Each Fugu blowfish contains enough lethal toxins to kill 30 people."

"Fishies, meet your makers!" Chef cried out, tapping on the tank to make the fish blow up before using a net to scoop each fish out of the tank and flinging them across the room to each team's table.

"They must be sliced very carefully to cut around the poisonous organs." Chris warned the teens. "The poison paralyses the nerves and there is no antidote. But no worries, right?"

"Doesn't that sound so fun?" Izzy asked, her green eyes wide with excitement. "Being incurably poisoned?"

Beth looked down at the blowfish before her and gulped, already increasingly nervous for the challenge.

Dawn looked horrified. "Kill another living being? I can't. I won't."

Jo narrowed her eyes at her teammate. "If you screw this up for us, I can personally guarantee that you will be the one going home tonight."

"Then so be it." Dawn responded firmly. "I would rather lose my chance at a million dollars than to compromise myself and my beliefs."

* * *

**Confessional**

" _She was so brave. Jo's even meaner than Heather and Dawn still stood up to her – just like that!" Beth said, awestruck. "Refusing to compromise yourself – that's the most inspirational thing I've ever heard."_

* * *

"Fine, I'll cook then." Jo said grudgingly.

Chris shook his head, smirking. "You already called dibs on being the eater. No trade-backs."

If looks could have killed, Jo would have killed Dawn seven times over with the look she gave her at that moment.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I'm probably going to die today." Cameron said. "So I just wanted to tell my Mom that I love her."_

* * *

"I'm sorry little one." Dawn said, gently avoiding the fish's poisonous quills and carrying it towards the tank.

"Just where do you think you're going?" Chef asked, glaring at her as he used his body to block her access to the tank.

"I refuse to take the life of an innocent creature just for a challenge." Dawn said simply.

"Awww, ain't that sweet?" Chef asked, smiling.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I could see in his aura that his smile was false." Dawn said._

* * *

Snatching the fish out of Dawn's tiny hands, Chef smacked it down on a nearby table and with a single stroke of his axe, disconnected its head from its body.

"No," Dawn dropped to her knees, tears welling up in her eyes. "I'm sorry, little one. I have failed you."

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Well what do you know, Chef's on my side." Jo said, nodded in a satisfied manner._

Static.

" _Jockette's got a good a chance of winning as anyone." Chef explained. "And now she owes me one."_

* * *

Beth's hands were trembling like crazy. Geoff's life was in her hands – she wasn't ready for this! Were they even allowed to do things like this on the show? Surely you had to be trained in the art of preparing poisonous creatures before you could legally be allowed to make them.

But if there were laws like that, why wasn't Chris following them?

She thought she'd been doing extremely well to cut around the poisonous organs, and she almost thought they had a chance of winning it too, until Chris startled all three teams by ringing the gong to signify the end of their preparation time.

Starting from the sudden sound, Beth's hand slipped and the knife in her hand sliced through the poison sack of the blowfish, a spray of poison juice misting over the sushi she'd already prepared.

"Oh crap!" Beth cried out, quickly grabbing the finished sushi pieces as fast as she could. Putting them on a plate, she gulped. The toxins were pretty strong but surely that small a dose wouldn't hurt Geoff, right?

"Serving time!" Chris said, grinning as the six teens looked down at their prepared meals.

Perhaps due to her red, swollen eyes and tear-streaked face, the sushi that Dawn had prepared lacked a certain presentation aspect. Beth's sushi looked pretty decent, and whatever Izzy had made looked to be a mess. There was a plate of pale pink mush with a ketchup smilie face on it, while chunks of fish lay scattered across her preparation counter.

Dawn pushed the plate towards Jo indifferently. The jockette reluctantly took a bite of the sushi and began to chew it thoughtfully.

"Not bad, not bad at all." Jo said after a moment.

Beth was fidgeting as she looked at the plate of sushi she had prepared for Geoff. The party boy took a piece and raised it to his mouth, trusting the geeky farmgirl entirely.

"No, Geoff, don't do it!" Beth said suddenly, half a second before the sushi touched the party boy's lips. "I think I got poison juices all over it."

"Well that's nice of you to be honest." Chris said, looking from the geek girl to the party boy. After a moment, he focused on Geoff. "You still have to eat it if you want the point for your team."

"I'm sure it's fine, brah." Geoff said, trying to convince himself more than he was trying to convince Beth.

And with a deep breath, he popped the piece of sushi into his mouth and began to chew it. He seemed rather nervous as he chewed, but after a moment, he swallowed the food and began to smile.

Giving the brunette both thumbs up, he grinned at her. "Excellence!"

Unfortunately, his joy and relief was short-lived as his entire body twitched. His stomach began to grumble and he suddenly screamed. Clutching his chest, he dropped to the ground and began to projectile vomit all over the mess hall floor.

"What an unfortunate turn of events." Chris commented, although he sounded almost pleased by what had happened. "Cameron, you're up."

"What?! But Geoff-" Cameron squeaked, regarding the rival team member with fear.

"The sooner you eat what Izzy had prepared for you, the sooner Geoff will receive the medical attention he needs." Chris said, unworried.

Cameron regarded the plate of mush and ketchup with wide, fearful eyes.

"I guess it can't be any worse than Chef's food." Cameron said, closing his eyes as he raised a forkful to his mouth.

"Watch it, scrawny kid." Chef warned him with a glare. The bubble boy flinched under the ex-militant's glare, but did not pause.

Chewing his meal, he opened his eyes after a moment and realized he still felt okay. Izzy was regarding him closely, and after a moment, she frowned.

"Oh, I know what I forgot!" Izzy said, laughing. Scooping up a small pile of fish guts from the counter, she held out her hand to offer Cameron some. "Poison sac?"

"N-no thanks, I'm good." Cameron said, suddenly beginning to tremble with relief.

Izzy shrugged. "More for me, then."

And with that she scooped the entire amount of poisoned fish guts into her mouth and proceeded to have the exact same reaction as Geoff had, starting with severe convulsions.

Between the spasms and projectile vomiting, Izzy began to laugh.

"Oooooh-kay then." Chris said, regarding the crazy chick with a wary look. Then he turned to Chef. "I think they'll both fit on one stretcher, don't you think?"

Chef nodded. "Roger that."

"Well, looks like the Gophers and the Bears tie in first for this one." Chris said, making his way to the door.

"But Geoff trusted me!" Beth said, distraught as she looked at her teammate.

"Yeah, but he got poisoned anyway." Chris said with a shrug. "It's cool. Give them twenty-four hours and they'll be up walking and breathing good as new."

As Chris began to walk away, Cameron looked at the two poisoned teens with a look of terror. "Isn't anyone going to help them?!"

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I'm alive." Cameron said in disbelief. "Izzy didn't poison me. I'm alive. And Izzy didn't poison me." He paused for a moment, taking a deep breath. "I hope she'll be okay. I mean, she's so crazy that I don't even think what she has would be listed in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, and she's completely terrifying, but I still hope she'll be okay."_

* * *

As the four challenge survivors made their way out of the mess hall and rejoined their teammates, Dawn fell behind. Jo made her way over to the other Gophers, fist pumping victoriously as though she were entirely responsible for their team tying for first for that particular part of the challenge.

With a sigh of irritation, Noah got up off the ground and was about to follow his teammates when he noticed a blonde girl with a red, blotchy face making her way out of the mess hall.

"What happened to you?" he asked, a tone of indifference in his voice.

"I failed to save one of nature's children." Dawn answered solemnly.

"And I thought Jo was the bad guy here." Noah quipped. "Failure – now that's just evil."

Dawn was silent.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Scott has been giving the other teams suspiciously easy wins for more than just a few challenges. And the rest of my team probably hasn't even noticed, but I was a CIT – I'm trained to notice things like that." Courtney said, pausing before her dark eyes went wide with a sudden realization. "But maybe. . . maybe there is someone else who's noticed too."_

* * *

Sadie was sitting alone at the edge of the dock. Despite having been let in on Bridgette's alliance, she felt just as much of an outsider on her team as she had the day she'd been separated from Katie, and the day that B and Eva had been sent home.

Sadie was rather surprised when she heard footsteps on the dock and moments later Courtney sat down beside her.

Sadie regarded her teammate with a shocked expression for a moment before continuing to focus on the water below her. Courtney was probably just stressed out or something. She wouldn't come to the dock just to sit with her. She was pretty sure Courtney didn't even like her.

"Sadie? I have something to ask you."

"Me?" Sadie asked, incredulous. "What about?"

"Scott."

"Oh." Sadie responded, regarding her teammate with a suspicious look. "Wouldn't Bridgette know more about him than me? She is his girlfriend, after all."

"No, I don't think Bridgette would be able to tell me what I want to know."

"So what is it?"

"I want to know why you punched Scott."

Sadie's mouth was agape for a moment, but she remained entirely silent.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _If I tell Courtney, Scott is going to find out and then Bridgette is going to get everyone to vote me off." Sadie said, fidgeting nervously. "And I'm not ready to go home just yet."_

Static.

" _Courtney's digging." Scott said, frowning. "That's gonna have to stop."_

* * *

"Good news, the third round of the trust challenges involves three more challenges. It's the three blind challenges!" Chris said, standing in front of the assembled teens with a grin. "It begins with the blind William Tell, followed by the Blind Trapeze, culminating in the treacherous Blind Toboggan."

Chris approached DJ, who was standing at the very end of the group with Bunny and motioned for him to step aside. The gentle giant obliged, but handed his beloved pet to nearby team member Tyler temporarily.

"Like legendary marksman William Tell, you will be knocking arrows off your partner's heads with crab-apples." Chris said, placing an apple atop DJ's head.

"Wasn't it the other way around?" Courtney interrupted.

"Shush!" Chris said, pulling out a white piece of fabric. "Also, the shooter will be blindfolded."

DJ's teammates sidestepped away from him as Chris put on a blindfold.

"The person who knocks the apple off their teammates head while causing the least amount of facial damage to their partner wins."

Chris pulled back the slingshot and fired. Unfortunately, he was well off his target and DJ dropped to his knees, clutching his groin.

"Ahh, nuts!" Chris said when he lifted off the blindfold and saw where he'd hit.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I kind of deserved that." DJ said, his voice a few octaves higher than usual and he was still clutching his aching unmentionables. "After what we did to Harold, karma owes us back big time. It was Duncan's idea, but momma always told me to look out for people, you know? Take care of the underdog and all that. I screwed up, and I don't know if I can make it right, but I'm gonna do my best. I grabbed all of Harold's poems and I've been keeping them with me so Duncan doesn't get a hold of them again."_

* * *

"Zoey and Cody for the Gophers, Tyler and Heather for the Bass and Sadie and Lightning for the Bears." Chris announced.

"Oooh, let me shoot. I'm a good shot." Sadie insisted, jumping up and down on the spot.

"Sha-please, girl. You can't shoot better than the Lightning. Lightning is the king of the court."

"I don't mind shooting – if that's okay with you." Zoey volunteered, looking at her partner Cody with a smile.

Cody shrugged. "Sure, I guess."

Tyler grabbed a slingshot and began to inspect it with a grin. "Extreme!"

"Give me that." Heather commanded, snatching the equipment from the jock's hands. "I'm shooting."

"That's less extreme." Tyler answered, sighing.

"Okay, let's rock and roll!" Chris said.

* * *

Cody, Tyler and Sadie stood with an arrow resting on the tops of their heads, wearing safety glasses, while Zoey, Heather and Lightning stood with blindfolds on beside buckets of crab-apples.

The three blindfolded shooters loaded their slingshots and began firing crab-apples at their targets. Apple after apple flew through the air, pelting their victims – er, _targets_ , and leaving red welts that would likely become bruises.

"Ow!" Tyler cried out as Heather hit him repeatedly with crab-apples. Her blindfold wasn't on as tightly as the others were, and she was able to peek out from under the strip of fabric at her target. However, despite her visual advantage over her two rivals, she was still missing the arrow atop Tyler's head.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _If it weren't for that dumb jock, I'd have one more pawn under my control." Heather said. "So I owe him."_

* * *

Eventually, it was Zoey who managed to shoot the arrow off of Cody's head with an apple, skewering the fruit neatly. The Gophers began to cheer.

"Did I get it?" Zoey asked, pulling up her blindfold to see Cody holding the skewered crab-apple in his hands.

"Good job." Cody said, grinning at his teammate.

Heather lifted her blindfold off completely but didn't seem terribly upset by the loss. Unfortunately for Sadie, Lightning did not stop pelting her with crab-apples.

"The Lightning has sha-got it this time!" he cried out, pelting Sadie and most of the surrounding landscape with apples.

"Stop! It's over, Lightning!" Courtney cried out, approaching her blindfolded teammate.

The jock lowered his slingshot and lifted his blindfold. "Lightning strikes!"

"Yeah, strikes out." Heather said, smirking.

Lightning let out a cry of rage. "What?! The Lightning has got her this time!"

And with that, he lowered his blindfold and fired a final apple at Sadie, hitting her dead in the forehead. Sadie wobbled for a moment on her feet before falling over backwards. As she laid dead still on the ground, Lightning lifted his blindfold and gave a fist pump.

"Sha-score!"

"You were supposed to hit the arrow on top of her head – not her!" Courtney cried out before heading to her teammate's side and trying to wake her. After a few unsuccessful attempts to shake the girl awake, she turned to the others with wide eyes. "Is anyone going to help her?"

Chris shrugged. "Chef will take care of her."

At the mention of his name, the ex-military co-host walked over, picked the girl up and hefted her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes before making his way towards the infirmary tent.

* * *

Geoff yawned and opened his eyes as Chef made his way into the infirmary tent with a girl slung over his shoulder. Rubbing his eyes, he sat up on his stretcher.

"Yo G, what's up?" He said, drooling a little bit. His words were slurred and slow.

Chef flopped the girl down onto an empty stretcher, not gentle in the slightest. Geoff cringed at the painful sounding _thud_ of her body hitting the stiff medical board. She'd be bruised when she woke up later.

"Can you walk?" Chef asked.

"I'll try." Geoff said, sliding off the end of the medical table in a very uncoordinated manner. Wobbling a bit on his feet at first, he was able to walk if he held onto something to steady himself.

Chef watched him for a moment before nodding. "You're released."

"Score! Thanks G!" Geoff slurred, still drooling a bit as he began to wobble his way out of the medical tent.

* * *

"And now, the blind trapeze!" Chris announced to the remaining group of teens as they stood in front of a pool with a large wooden frame over it. "To avoid injury, this trapeze has been set up over this pond. Which is full of jellyfish."

The crowd of teens gasped in horror.

"You three will stand blindfolded on the platform until your partners tell you when to jump." Chris said.

"And then what?" Beth asked, regarding her blindfold nervously.

"Then, hopefully they'll catch you. Or that's gonna be one heck of a painful swim." Chris said, laughing at the prospect of the teens in pain. "Blindfolds on!"

* * *

As DJ went to climb up the ladder onto the trapeze platform, a small grey furry bundle poked its head out of his pocket.

"Aww, sorry little buddy," DJ said, picking up the rabbit in his hands. "You can't come up with me. But you can trust Geoff. He's my buddy."

The rabbit regarded DJ with solemn eyes.

"Yo Geoff, can you watch bunny while I'm up on the swing?" DJ said, handing his furry friend to the blonde party animal. "Thanks G."

"Sure, man." Geoff said with a nod, slurring less than he had before his walk to rejoin his teammates. Smiling as he looked down at the cute creature in his hands. "Little furry dude, what's up?"

* * *

DJ hung from the trapeze by his knees and began to swing.

"Okay Beth," DJ said, looking up at his blindfolded partner up on the platform. "Okay Beth, jump now!"

The blindfolded farm girl shrank back, clutching one of the posts that made up the platform desperately. Her breathing shaky, it was clear she was absolutely terrified.

"Beth, if we're going to win, you're going to have to trust me." DJ said, trying to comfort his teammate.

"I – I don't know if I can do it." Beth said, her entire body trembling.

"Beth, you'd better not screw this up for us!" Heather warned from below them.

"I-I'll try." Beth said nervously, stepping away from the wooden post.

"Okay, one, two, three – jump!" DJ said. Beth edged closer to the edge of the platform but still did not jump.

"I'm too scared." Beth said, stepping back from the edge again.

"C'mon Beth, you can do this. I got you." DJ said. "One, two, three – jump!"

Hesitating a second, Beth took a deep breath and jumped off the platform. Unfortunately her nervousness and hesitation were working against her. DJ barely managed to catch her, and he didn't even finish swinging her before her sweaty hands slid right out of his grip and she splashed into the jellyfish pool.

"Beth, I'm sorry!" DJ called to his teammate, cringing at his failure.

"Ahh!" Beth cried out as she was stung repeatedly by the now-angered jellyfish.

* * *

After Beth had been fished out of the jellyfish pool and was on her way to the infirmary, the teens continued on with the challenge.

Several moments later, Scott was swinging from the trapeze swing and Mike was standing blindfolded on the platform. He stood by the edge, breathing deeply.

"R-ready." Mike said nervously.

"Alright," Scott began, swinging back and forth for a few moments. "Jump!"

"Svetlana wins gold, silver and bronze!" Mike cried out in a Russian accent, doing a mid-air somersault before his hands grasped Scott's and he swung across to the other platform.

"That's a tough act to follow!" Chris said.

"Lucky me." Noah quipped, regarding the white cloth in his hands with a wary expression.

"On the bright side, it's a pond full of jellyfish and not eels." Dawn commented.

"How reassuring," Noah retorted, beginning the climb up onto the platform after his Latino partner.

"Whenever you're ready!" Chris said.

"Don't worry, amigo, you can trust me." Alejandro said, swinging back and forth from the trapeze.

"And the jellyfish won't sting me when you drop me in the pool," Noah muttered to himself sarcastically, stepping towards the edge of the platform. After a count of three, Alejandro prompted his teammate to jump and the bookworm did, resulting in his teammate swinging him to safety in a very anti-climactic manner.

"One point for each the Gophers and the Bears!" Chris said.

* * *

After Chris let them break for lunch, Zoey sprinted back to the cabins and got into her swimsuit. It was a warm day and they didn't get that many opportunities to have fun and relax, so she was going to make the most of this one.

Jogging out of the Gopher cabin, she tripped on a loose board and took a tumble down the stairs, accidentally ramming into someone at the bottom of the steps, knocking them over as well.

"Ooof!" Mike grunted as he hit the dirt.

"Sorry!" Zoey said quickly, trying to sit up quickly.

Unfortunately, Mike chose the exact same moment to sit up and accidentally bashed his forehead against Zoey's in the process.

"Ow! Sorry!" The duo said in unison, raising a hand over the goose-eggs that were now rising on both of their foreheads.

"H-hey Zoey." Mike said, blushing.

"Hi Mike." the redhead replied, her dark eyes growing wide and her face flushing beet red when she realized that she was straddling Mike. Quickly she backed away from him, putting three feet between the two of them. Growing increasingly flustered, she looked down at her hands and began to fidget, her face still red. "Uh, sorry. About falling for you. ON! Falling _on_ you."

"It's okay." Mike said, looking equally as flustered. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

The two fell into an awkward silence for a moment. After taking a deep breath, Mike shook his head to free himself from the trance-like state he was in and scrambled to his feet. "Need a hand?"

She smiled and took his offered hand. "S-sure."

Mike pulled the girl to her feet. Noticing her outfit, he couldn't help checking her out. "Going swimming?"

"Yeah." She nodded. "Wanna come?"

"Sure!" Mike said, perhaps a little too enthusiastically before both of them noticed that neither one had let go of the other's hand. Their eyes met for a moment and they broke their grip as though the other's had suddenly become burning hot.

Laughing nervously, Mike ran his hand through his hair in an attempt to play it cool, while Zoey held her hand with her other hand in front of her chest as though nursing it.

They fell into another awkward pause before Mike used his thumb to point over his shoulder at his team's cabin, before backing up a step. "I'll – uh – meet you at the dock?"

"Yeah! I'll see you then!" Zoey said, nodding.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Just when I thought I was starting to get things figured out and now I'm back to square one." Zoey said with a sigh._

* * *

"That was sweet," Scott said, walking down the steps of the Bears' cabin and sitting at the bottom with a stick, whittling it into a spear.

"Scott!" Mike said, whirling to face the teammate who had startled him. "Did you – uh – see all of that?"

"Yup." Scott said simply, whittling.

"Oh." Mike said, falling silent. After a moment, Mike began to make his way up the stairs to the cabin to change into his swimwear. He had reached the top of the stairs when Scott spoke again.

"Wonder how she'll feel about your ' _characters_ '," Scott sneered.

"My – my characters?" Mike repeated, freezing in place.

"Well, that is what you call them, isn't it?"

"Uh – yeah! My characters! Because I'm really passionate about my acting!" He turned to face his teammate, a desperate look in his wide brown eyes.

"I wonder what she'd think of the truth." Scott said, not looking up from his whittling. "I mean, multiple personalities is pretty weird."

"M-multiple personalities?" Mike said, his world crashing down around him.

"Uh-huh." Scott said, indifferent. "Bridgette said that's why you're so weird."

"She said I was weird?"

"I think the word she used was 'crazy', but same difference, right?"

"C-crazy?"

"Yep." Scott said. "Wonder what Zoey will say when I tell her."

"Tell her?" Mike asked in a quiet voice, taking a step down the stairs. "Why – why would you tell her?"

"Someone needs to warn her." Scott said. "You could be dangerous."

"Please don't." Mike said, his voice a mere whisper. "I'm not dangerous, I swear. Just please, please don't tell Zoey. I'll do anything-"

"Anything?" Scott said, raising an eyebrow. "Okay, we have a deal."

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Too easy." Scott said, still whittling his spear._

Static.

" _Bridgette thinks I'm crazy?" Mike said in a mixture of hurt and disbelief. "And she told Scott about my multiple personality disorder, even after I asked her not to tell anyone? I trusted her. . ."_

* * *

Zoey sat on the end of the dock, waiting for the cute boy who said he'd meet her there. Her legs hanging over the side, she dipped her toes into the dark blue waters and watching the resulting ripples intently.

They didn't have much of their lunch break left – she should have known that he wouldn't come.

With a sigh, she pulled her legs up onto the wooden dock and stood up. If he wasn't going to show up, she was done waiting for him. Maybe she should have waited for a little longer, but then hadn't she been getting enough mixed signals from Mike?

One minute she almost thought he was into her, and the next he wasn't even showing up to an invitation he had accepted face to face. If he didn't want to come swimming with her, he should have just said so. Or, since he did, he could have told her that something had come up, or come swimming for a few minutes just to be polite.

Just not showing up was not cool.

* * *

**Confessiona]**

" _For a moment there, I almost thought there was something between Mike and I." Zoey said with a sigh._

* * *

Suddenly, she heard footsteps on the dock and she turned around, hopeful that Mike had finally come to swim with her, but instead she found a blond male in a cowboy hat sprinting down the dock.

"Whoa!" He said, halting suddenly by the end of the dock to take DJ's bunny out of his pocket. His speech was back to normal and he seemed to have recovered entirely from the poisoning he'd experience earlier. "Gotta put Bunny in a safe spot first."

Turning around, he jogged to the lifeguard tower and put the bunny atop it before sprinting to the end of the dock once more and dove in, hat still on. "Woohoo!"

Zoey sighed.

His head bobbing up above the water once more, he grinned up at the girl for a moment. Noticing her expression, his face fell. "Whoa brah, you seem down."

"I'm fine," Zoey said with a sigh. "I guess I just got my hopes up."

"Over what?"

"Someone was supposed to meet me here for a swim, but they didn't show up."

"Oh, bummer." Geoff said, looking sad for a moment. Then he brightened. "There's still time. You wanna swim with me while you wait?"

After a moment, Zoey nodded. "Sure. If that's okay with you!"

"Sure thing, brah!" Geoff nodded enthusiastically. "Come on in – the water's perfect!"

Looking less bummed than she had before, the redhead jumped into the water with the blond haired party boy in the cowboy hat.

* * *

Mike sat bolt upright in his bunk bed, gasping as he realized he'd messed things up yet again.

"CRAP!"

He'd been so wrapped up in worrying about Scott's threat that he'd completely forgotten about agreeing to meet Zoey at the docks. Swinging his legs over the side of his bunk bed, he sprinted out of the cabin and down towards the lake.

He opened his mouth, about to call her name when he saw she had company. Stopping in his tracks, he stared, mouth still agape, as Zoey and her blonde companion had a splashing fight. Even from that distance, he could see that they were both laughing, and seemed to be having fun.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Not only did I really mess up with Zoey,_ _but I think -_ _" Mike began,_ _pausing to take a deep breath_ _. "I think_ _I_ _just_ _lost_ _my_ _last_ _chance."_

* * *

"Thanks for everything, Geoff." Zoey said as the two of them pulled themselves out of the water and up onto the dock. Standing up, she began to wring out her cherry-red hair before grabbing her towel.

"Anytime, brah!" Geoff said, giving the girl a fist bump before starting to shake dry like a dog.

Halfway through drying herself, Zoey paused and gasped, attracting Geoff's attention to the lifeguard's tower, where a massive snake was twining its way up one of the tower's legs towards Bunny.

"No!" Geoff gasped, sprinting towards the tower. "Bunny!"

Zoey took off running after Geoff to help save Bunny, but the snake was faster and with what Geoff could have sworn was a defiant look, devoured Bunny in a single bite. Zoey halted, her hands over her mouth and a look of horror and devastation painted across her face. Geoff crept closer to the snake, determined to save Bunny.

Unfortunately, the moment he pounced was the moment that a massive bird swooped in and snatched up the serpent from right under Geoff's grasp. As though to taunt the duo, it landed on the end of the dock with its prey.

"Geoff, get it!" Zoey cried out as the blonde picked himself up off the dock and sprinted past her.

"How?"

"I don't know! Grab it by the feet or the wings or something!"

Geoff slowed his paced and began to tiptoe towards the bird so as not to scare it away.

"Here eagle, eagle." Geoff cooed, and it almost seemed to be working to keep the bird in place.

Unfortunately, a shark chose that moment to bite through a chunk of the dock, swallowing the eagle whole.

"Aw, come ON!" Geoff cried out, stomping his foot in frustration.

* * *

As the teens made their way to the location of the very last part of the challenge, DJ caught up to his blonde teammate and Zoey, who were walking together."So, yo, where's Bunny at?"

"Uhh, I forgot – I – uhh. I put him – uhh. . . There was – uhh . . ."

DJ regarded the duo with wide, soulful eyes.

"He's not with us anymore." Geoff said sadly, before perking up in his best attempt to lie. "He – uh – hopped away. But I'm sure he'll be back! Sorry, dude."

As Geoff looked down sadly, DJ put a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. "Nahh, it's not your fault, man."

Geoff glanced over at his new friend Zoey as DJ began to walk away.

"My little Bunny. . . he was such a good friend." DJ said, looking absolutely devastated. Moments later, he threw his hands up in the air and began to shout. "BUNNY! WHY YOU GOTTA DO ME LIKE THAT?"

Geoff looked down, obviously upset about having to lie to his friend. Zoey placed a hand on his shoulder. "You did the right thing, Geoff."

"I hope you're right, brah." Geoff said with a sigh.

Meanwhile, Duncan rolled his eyes in annoyance.

* * *

"And now, the final leg: the blind toboggan race." Chris announced to the remaining teens.

"The say _what_?!" LeShawna asked.

"Each team will have a driver and a navigator." Chris explained. "The driver steers while the navigator shouts directions. Oh yeah, and the driver will be blindfolded."

The teens gasped in shock and horror.

The host looked around at the remaining teens with a look of satisfaction. "Not many of you left, huh? We keep losing you guys!"

As Chris chuckled at their pain, the remaining teens looked increasingly nervous.

"Oh well, uh, Alejandro and Jo for the Gophers." Chris said, tapping his chin as he studied the teens.

While Chris was considering his options, Mike made his way over to Zoey and offered her a smile. "Sorry about the swimming thing-"

"It's okay." Zoey said with her most nonchalant shrug. "You had other things to do. Don't worry about it."

"No, it's not like that-"

"Mike and Bridgette for the Bears, Duncan and LeShawna for the Bass." Chris announced. "Chop, chop!"

With a sigh, Mike abandoned his conversation with Zoey and began his trek to the top of the hill.

* * *

When the teens reached the top of the hill, they found Chef painting the bottoms of the toboggans with a large can of semi-opaque brown paint.

Grinning, he looked at the teens. "I'm just lubing them up. Get a little more speed going."

"Is that kitchen grease?" LeShawna asked in disbelief.

"You're driving." Jo commanded, shoving the white fabric blindfold into her partner Alejandro's hands.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Jo seemed quite desperate to be the one in charge." Alejandro said, smirking. "She probably wanted to know what it felt like to actually have someone follow her orders for once."_

* * *

"On your marks, get set," Chris said, pausing for a moment before he pressed the button on his air horn to signal the beginning of the match. The three toboggans began to slide down the hill, increasing in speed by the second.

"Right! I said right!" LeShawna instructed her partner, Duncan, growing increasingly frustrated by the minute. "Are you hard of hearing? Go right!"

"Stop your nagging, woman!" Duncan snapped. "I can't focus with you yapping back there!"

"Oh, you wanna do this now?" LeShawna replied. "Maybe I wouldn't have to keep telling you ten times if you'd do it the first time! Left!"

"Left! Right! Left! Left!" Bridgette instructed as they slid down the hill, but Mike ignored her instructions. As they narrowly missed a tree, Bridgette began to freak out, scared for her life. "Mike! I said left! Why aren't you listening? Don't you trust me?"

* * *

**Confessional**

" _No! I don't trust you!" Mike ranted, looking thoroughly irritated. "And why would I? I asked you not to tell anyone about my disorder and you told Scott! Exactly what part of that total betrayal did you find trust-building?!"_

* * *

In comparison to the two rival teams, the Gophers had a solid pair. Jo was barking orders to Alejandro and he was obeying her directions.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _It would have been so easy to eliminate the competition." Jo said. "Direct him into an obstacle and then tuck and roll at the last minute. But then, if I did that I'd have been no better than the losers on the other teams."_

* * *

As Duncan and LeShawna very nearly collided with a tree, an explosion went off only a few feet from them, shaking the tree significantly and raining leaves down onto the duo.

"Bleh!" LeShawna complained, spitting as she got a mouthful of leaves. "Can't you try to follow simple directions?"

"Nope." Duncan responded, not wanting to listen.

"Are you trying to get us killed?!" LeShawna asked.

"No, I just don't need directions from a woman whose mouth is bigger than her butt."

"Oh no you did _not_ just say that." LeShawna said, narrowing her eyes angrily. "Are you _trying_ to start something, you punk wannabe?"

"If the start is of you leaving me alone, then yes."

* * *

"We had some explosives left over from the rock climbing challenge." Chris said, pushing the lever on a mechanical box, igniting a second explosion on the hill and raining dirt and grass down onto the competing teens. "And I just hate to waste."

* * *

A third explosion went off under Bridgette and Mike's toboggan, sending the duo flying into the air. Bridgette screamed in terror and wrapped her arms around Mike's waist, afraid of falling off the toboggan.

"I don't want to die! I don't want to die!" Bridgette screamed, closing her eyes and pressing her face against Mike's back, too afraid of seeing their seemingly imminent doom to continue navigating for the two of them.

As the duo soared through the air, Alejandro and Jo got closer and closer to the finish line, their team's cheers growing louder and louder the closer they got.

However, at the very last moment, Bridgette and Mike's toboggan crashed down back onto the ground just over the finish line.

The Gophers gasped, and then Bears began to cheer for their teammates.

"Way to go, guys!" Courtney congratulated the duo, but Bridgette did not appear to hear and still had her face buried in Mike's back.

"Did we win?" Mike asked, cautiously pulling his blindfold up over his eyes.

"Great job guys!" Cameron said, giving his teammate a thumbs up.

"Hey Bridgette, we won." Mike said to the surfer girl whose arms were still wrapped firmly around his waist, still terrified for her life. "Bridgette, it's over. You can let go now."

"Bridgette?" Courtney prompted when the blonde failed to respond. Frowning, the freckle-faced brunette looked up at her teammates who had gathered around. Finding the person she was looking for almost immediately, she opened her mouth to address him as he began to walk away. "Hey Scott? Where are you going?"

"Back to the cabin." the ginger-haired farmboy answered.

"Bridgette won't let go of Mike."

"Ok." Scott said, shrugging as though he didn't care.

"Aren't you going to do something to help?"

"Why?"

Courtney seemed taken aback for a moment, but quickly regathered her thoughts. "Because she's your girlfriend."

"And?" Scott asked, not caring at all. "What do you expect me to do?"

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I don't know," Courtney said. "Care, maybe."_

* * *

Sadie sat up on the stretcher, her entire left side aching like she'd ran into a wall or fallen on her side. Her head was pounding but at least her vision wasn't fuzzy. She'd had a concussion when she was thirteen after Katie had accidentally hit her in the head with her locker door when a cute boy had stopped to talk to her.

Recalling the barrage of crab-apples flying through the air towards her, Sadie rubbed a hand over one of the worst bruises.

Hearing footsteps, she looked up from her bed expecting to see Chef doing his rounds and hoping for the chance to ask if she was okay to leave.

Instead she found Scott headed her way. Making eye contact, she sighed as she realized he'd seen her so she couldn't just lay back down and pretend to be sleeping.

"Hi Scott. What brings you here?" Sadie asked when her teammate halted by her bedside.

"Courtney."

Sadie nodded but did not speak.

"She's asking questions."

"I won't tell her a thing," Sadie said solemnly. "I promise."

"That's good to hear." Scott said with a nod. "Your place in Bridgette's alliance is safe. For now."

* * *

**Confessional**

" _You know, I'm starting to think this whole alliance thing is more of Scott's alliance than Bridgette's." Sadie said_

* * *

"Sadie, I'm glad you're awake." Courtney said, smiling at her teammate. "How are you feeling?"

"Okay." Sadie replied. "How did we do?"

"We tied with the Gophers for first. I figured we'd have to do a tie-breaker round, but Chris said that since it isn't a reward challenge, it doesn't matter who won, only who lost."

"It's good that we don't have to vote anyone off tonight."

"Yeah." Courtney said, pausing for a moment. "I actually came here to ask you something."

"Oh?"

"I wanted to know why you punched Scott."

"I – uh – I _punched Scott_?" Sadie asked, looking as confused and shocked as she could manage.

"In the fear challenge." Courtney reminded her.

Sadie paused for a moment as though trying to remember, then shook her head. "I'm sorry Courtney, I don't remember. That apple must have hit me pretty hard."

"But you remember getting hit with an apple?"

"No – uh – Chef! Chef told me – uh - what happened in the challenge." Sadie said quickly, trying to cover her lie.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I have a feeling that Scott paid a visit to Sadie before I did." Courtney said, frowning._

* * *

Sighing, Courtney stood up.

"I hope you feel better soon, Sadie."

And with that, she made her way out of the infirmary tent.

Ahead of her, just by the treeline, Duncan was walking backwards, a carrot firmly gripped in his hand. A moment later, a small grey rabbit hopped after him, looking eagerly to get the carrot.

Frowning, she spoke aloud to herself. "What's Duncan doing with a rabbit?"

* * *

"DJ, dude, I know you're sad about your pet Bunny, but you've gotta eat, man." Geoff said, pushing a plate of food closer to DJ, who was sitting in the mess hall with his face propped up on his hands, staring blankly at the table. "This could be life or seriously heinous death, bro."

"Bunny deserted me." DJ said, verging on tears. "Why should I trust you?"

"DJ, we really need you to eat, man. Bunny would want you to live." Geoff said, to no avail.

"Hey DJ, look who I found!" Duncan called across the mess hall, attracting the attention of the other teens that were gathered there. Holding a small grey bunny above his head, he smiled.

"DJ! Duncan found Bunny!" Geoff said, smiling with relief.

"Don't tease me, man!" DJ said, turning around but not expecting to see his beloved friend. A smile lighting up the lovable giant's face when he saw Duncan and the rabbit, DJ practically knocked over his chair when getting up to greet his friend. "Bunny! You came back!"

Picking up the rabbit in his giant hands, he raised his pet up high above his head before bringing it down to his face to snuggle the creature.

"Thanks Duncan." DJ said, teary-eyed. "You're the best."

"Whatever, man." Duncan said, shrugging with nonchalance. "It's just a stupid rabbit."

As DJ made his way back over to his table with his pet, Courtney approached Duncan with a surprised smile. "I can't believe you found a new bunny for DJ. You're a good guy."

"What?" Duncan asked, turning back to look at her. "No, I'm not."

"You are." Courtney insisted, pleasantly surprised by this new revelation. "You're actually _nice_."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I saw you do it, Duncan."

"Whatever. He wouldn't leave me alone, weird rabbit." At the look Courtney gave him, he gave in. "Ok, fine, I did it. Are you happy now? Listen, don't tell anybody, ok? I don't want them to think I'm soft or something."

Courtney smiled. "Your secret's safe with me."

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I'm not nice, ok?" Duncan insisted. "Just to set the record straight."_

* * *

"Noah?" A soft female voice said.

"Yes?" he responded, not even looking up from his book as his teammate approached him.

"I just wanted to tell you that you were very brave today." she said. "I can see in your aura that you do not trust Alejandro, and yet you jumped anyway."

"I'm glad to know you approve." He quipped sarcastically, still not looking up from his book.

Taking the hint that he did not want to be bothered, the girl took that as her cue to leave him in peace and continued on her way.

* * *

"Bunny, I'm so glad you're back." DJ said, standing up from his chair and moving to put his furry friend in the pocket of his pants. Pausing a moment, he reached into his pocket to get something out – possibly to make more space for his little critter friend, but instead he looked mildly alarmed.

"Oh no," DJ said to himself, shifting Bunny to his other hand so he could check his other pockets. "Harold's poems."

DJ's bunny tilted its head to the side inquisitively.

"They must have fallen out when I was on the trapeze with Beth." DJ said, more to himself than to anyone else. "Dang. And here I wanted to make amends by making sure nobody got their hands on Harold's private poetry."

* * *

Gwen and Zoey were making their ways to their respective cabins when Bridgette stopped the two of them.

"Hey, one of you dropped this." Bridgette said, holding out a piece of folded paper.

"It's not mine." Gwen said, shrugging.

"Mine either." Zoey said. "Sorry."

"What does it say?" Gwen asked. "Maybe you can figure out who's it is that way?"

Bridgette opened the note and the trio read it together.

" _Curves of an angel,_  
with a bodacious booty  
a mortal goddess."

"Awww, that's really sweet." Zoey said. "I wonder who wrote them."

* * *

The Bass gathered around the campfire for another elimination ceremony.

"Who wants a treat?" Chris began, holding up a plate of marshmallows before them. "A tasty goody that represents exemption, security, peace of mind-"

Heather interrupted with a sigh. "Just get on with it!"

"And if you don't get a marshmallow, you have to walk the dock of shame and you can never come back, _ever_!" Chris finished. "Let's see. . . one for Gwen, one for Beth, one for Duncan, one for LeShawna."

The latter two sighed and exchanged hostile looks.

"Geoff, DJ. Well done my brothers."

The duo caught their marshmallows and began to eat them.

"Looks like we only have one left." Chris said, looking at the lone marshmallow remaining on the plate. "Heather and Tyler; the final marshmallow."

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

"Come on already." Heather said, rolling her eyes.

"Don't rush me!" Chris responded. "The audience eats up this kind of dramatic conclusion!"

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

"Heather." Chris said finally, tossing the final marshmallow to the queen bee.

"The rest of you are safe." Chris said. "For now."

Tyler sighed in disappointment and stood up. Casting a sad glance back at his now former teammates, the jock offered them the most cheerful smile he could before turning towards the dock of shame and, along with all his possessions, left the island for good.

* * *

**The Votes:**

" _Tyler cost me. He had to go." Heather said, filing her fingernails nonchalantly._

Static.

" _Heather said we're voting for Tyler today." Beth said._

Static.

" _Heather has got to go." Gwen said. "Especially after that stunt she pulled today."_

Static.

" _Duncan is as stubborn as they come." LeShawna said. "He's not a team player."_

Static.

" _LeShawna is the bossiest, loud-mouthiest, pushy people I've ever met. She doesn't even understand the concept of shutting up." Duncan said._

Static.

" _Beth and Heather said I should vote for Tyler. Man, I thought we were bros, but she said if I didn't vote for Tyler, they'd vote for me." Geoff said. "Sorry, dude."_

Static.

" _I guess I vote for Beth. I know she was scared, but if she'd been more confident, I wouldn't have dropped her." DJ said. "I know it's hard, but it's getting harder and harder to choose who you vote for."_

Static.

" _I vote for Heather. Harold was right – she is mean! To the extreme!" Tyler said._

_**Votes:** _

_Tyler – 3_   
_Heather – 2_   
_Duncan – 1_   
_LeShawna – 1  
_ _Beth - 1_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eliminated so far:
> 
> 37th: Katie  
> 36th: Staci  
> 35th: Sierra  
> 34th: Sam  
> 33rd: Eva  
> 32nd: Owen  
> 31st: B  
> 30th/29th: Lindsay & Ezekiel  
> 28th: Justin  
> 27th: Brick  
> 26th: Dakota  
> 25th: Anne Maria  
> 24th: Harold  
> 23rd: Tyler


	16. If You Can't Take the Heat

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Screaming Gophers: Dawn, Alejandro, Noah, Cody, Trent, Zoey, Jo
> 
> Killer Bass: Duncan, LeShawna, Geoff, Gwen, Heather, Beth, DJ
> 
> Thrashing Bears: Sadie, Cameron, Courtney, Scott, Lightning, Izzy, Bridgette, Mike

"Last time on Total Drama Island, the teams were given three challenges that tested their trust in their teammates. The rock-climbing challenge revealed more than just Heather's grudge against Gwen. Geoff got the bad end of a blowfish, courtesy of Beth, and so did Izzy, although that was self-inflicted. Because Izzy's insane. Mike almost managed to fix things with his crush, Zoey, until Scott revealed that Bridgette had betrayed his trust and Mike stood her up, quite possibly throwing away his last chance with her. DJ trusted Geoff with his pet Bunny – _huge_ mistake, by the way. Some campers got dropped on their butts, and Duncan shocked Courtney by showing her his softer side. Yeah, touching moments. Stay tuned for the most dramatic bonfire ceremony yet on Total Drama Island!"

_**Cue theme song.** _

Dawn sat up in her bed, chest heaving and her grey-blue eyes stretched wide with fear. Taking a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself, she found her stomach churning far too much to just go back to sleep.

Swinging her legs over the side of her bunk bed, the bed-frame creaked loudly and the blonde cringed.

"Dawn?" A groggy Zoey asked, half-sitting up in her bed across the room. "What's the matter?"

"I just need some air." Dawn said softly. "Go back to sleep."

As Dawn padded across the room to the doorway, Zoey did as she had been told and laid back down, resuming her slumber. Careful not to make the door creak, Dawn let herself out onto the front deck of the Gophers cabin.

Pulling her pajamas tighter around herself in the cool early morning air, she shivered, the shock of the cold under her feet waking her up even more than her unsettling dream had.

But the chill of the air had nothing on the chill in her soul.

 _The waiting_ _c_ _obra was preparing to strike_.

* * *

Making her way down the steps of the Gopher's cabin, Zoey put her hand up in a half-wave. Speeding up her pace to catch up to the duo, she called out to them. "Hey Gwen, Bridgette."

"Hey Zoey." They greeted in unison.

"Either of you figure out who wrote that poem or who it's to?"

"No," Gwen said, shaking her head. "But we think it's from Trent."

" _Gwen_ thinks it's from Trent." Bridgette corrected. "I don't think Trent is a poetry kind of guy."

"Oh, and Scott is?" Gwen retorted, rolling her eyes.

"It's entirely possible!"

"If it's possible for _Scott_ to have written that poem, then it's also possible that Trent could have been the one who wrote it."

"Girls, girls," Zoey said, putting up her hands in an almost surrender-like pose to try and calm the two. "There's no need to fight over it."

"In all honesty, I think there's a bigger chance that _Mike_ wrote these poems than _Scott._ " Gwen said sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

Zoey's eyes grew wide and she grabbed for the poem. Reading it over, she couldn't help the small grin on her face. "You think Mike could have written this?"

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Maybe Mike wrote the poem to make up for not meeting me for a swim when he said he was going to!" Zoey said, her voice full of hope. Reading the poem over again, she held it against her chest, swooning. "Awww, he's so sweet."_

* * *

"Gosh darnit! Back in my day, we didn't keep secrets." Mike muttered to himself, pacing back and forth outside the mess hall. His hand was in his hair, and he was the picture of frustration. He was hunched over forward and his pacing slowed. "We didn't care what people thought about us! Back in my day, things were straightforward! These young whippersnappers are all the same – lying, secret-keeping little morons!"

Alejandro began to make his way towards the mess hall, but halted when he heard the tail end of a rant that sounded much more wheezy than Mike's usual voice.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Mike seems quite frustrated with something." Alejandro said, a smirk on his face. "It almost seems like he's in need of a good friend that he can talk to."_

* * *

"Mike?" Alejandro ventured, calling out to the frustrated male. "Are you alright?"

Mike gasped and turned to him, a look of confusion painted across his face. "Huh?"

"I asked if you were alright." Alejandro repeated. "You seem a little frustrated."

"Oh, it's nothing." Mike lied, running a hand through his hair.

"If you say so." Alejandro said, nodding.

"I should go." Mike said, turning away from Alejandro and taking a few steps in the direction of the cabins.

"Mike?" Alejandro called out softly.

The brunette male turned back to the Spaniard.

"In Spanish, we say: ' _Amigo en la adversidad, es amigo de verdad_ '. It means: 'A friend in adversity is a true friend'." Alejandro said. "I won't press you, but I'd like you to know that you can trust me."

* * *

**Confessional**

_Alejandro sat in the confessional, smirking. "I never specified just what, exactly, he could trust me to do or not do."_

* * *

"Today's challenge will test your minds, your teamwork and your skills in the kitchen." Chris told the teens, which were, as they always were, assembled in a large group in front of him at the location of the day's challenge. "You'll be cooking a three-course meal and serving it to me, for tasting. The winners get a reward, the losers will send somebody home. Each team will appoint a head chef to choose the theme of the meal, and to oversee the cooking. To cook, you need ingredients. Every morning, a truck brings us food. Today's task starts there."

The sound of a helicopter approached, and in only seconds, a box truck hanging from chains was lowered to the ground. When the wheels touched the ground, the chains were released and fell to the ground around the truck with a dull _thud!_ With Chris's challenge explanation having been said and done and the helicopter now headed away from the island, the back door of the box van opened and the teens approached the vehicle.

"We could do a killer Italian theme!" Geoff said, his face lighting up.

"Hello Head Chef!" Duncan grinned.

"Seriously?" Geoff asked in wonder.

Duncan grinned, nodding in response.

"No, not seriously." Heather snapped, glaring at Duncan and Geoff. "I called being Head Chef."

"What? When?" Duncan responded, obviously irritated.

"Just now."

"That's not fair – Geoff was Head Chef first."

"I didn't hear him call it." Heather said smugly.

"She's right bro." Geoff said with a disappointed sigh. "Bummer."

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I had to take the leadership role. Hello, we're on a losing streak!" Heather said. "And really, everyone else on the team is pretty useless."_

* * *

As the two other teams made their way out of the truck and back up to the lodge with their supplies, the Killer Bass set to work gathering their supplies from the delivery truck.

"LeShawna, mangoes. Gwen, tomatoes. DJ, molasses. Geoff, peaches." Heather recited off her checklist, observing as each member of her team took the mentioned food items to the kitchens. "And Beth, pineapples."

As the team began to make their way back to the lodge, Heather fell into step beside teammate Beth.

"And _try_ not to mess up this time." Heather said, her voice dripping in venom and warning.

"Oh-okay." Beth stuttered, dipping her head submissively as she scurried off towards the lodge, careful to heed Heather's words.

"Just ignore her, girl." Leshawna said, rolling her eyes as the queen bee moved to the front of the group.

"Yes, that would be most advisable." A soft female voice made the two girls start with surprise and they turned to see a short blond member of the Gophers' team.

"Oh, uh, h-hey Dawn." Beth said with a nervous smile.

The moon-child placed a reassuring hand on Beth's arm. "Letting people walk all over you doesn't make you happy, I'm sure."

LeShawna nodded. "Listen to her, girl. She knows what she's talking about. You've gotta be yourself – don't let anyone else get you down."

Beth gave a nervous smile to her teammate and turned to the tiny blonde. "Thanks Dawn."

But the girl was nowhere in sight.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Dawn's right." Beth said, looking down at her hands nervously. "I'm just not sure if I'm ready to do what I need to do."_

* * *

"We have six people and three courses. Does anyone have any objections to working in pairs?" Alejandro asked, looking around at his teammates, five of which shook their heads. "Alright, partner up."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Jo said, glowering at Alejandro. "Who died and made you head chef, _Al_ _Spico_?"

Alejandro made a face. "After your, uh, team pep talks in previous challenges, I think everyone would agree that alternative team leadership is in order."

"What-"

Before Jo could finish protesting, Alejandro cut her off. "Do you have any ideas for a three-course meal that Chris would like?"

That promptly shut her up.

"So I was thinking today we could serve Salmon en Croute with asparagus and sweated mushrooms as our main course." Alejandro said, pausing for a moment. "With Alfredo Pasta as the appetizer and a Lemon Mousse for dessert."

"I know how to make a great Alfredo sauce." Zoey said, grinning. "It's a family recipe."

"I can, uh, boil pasta." Jo said, sheepish that that just about explained the extent of her skills in the kitchen.

"Alright, Zoey and Jo will work together on appetizers." Alejandro said, turning to look at Zoey with a concerned expression. "If that's okay with everyone."

"Definitely. It'll be fun." Zoey said, her enthusiasm obviously forced. "Yay."

"I took Home Ec last year." Cody admitted, causing most members of his team to snicker at him.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _What?" Cody asked with a shrug. "At my school, only girls take the cooking class, so for a whole semester, I was alone with twenty two girls! And the teacher. But mostly twenty two girls!"_

* * *

"My grandmother always let me help her cook for my grandfather when I was little." Trent said. "And I don't want to boast, but I'm not bad in the kitchen."

"Trent and Cody can work on our main course then, which leaves Dawn and Noah to work on our Coconut-Lemon Mousse for dessert." Alejandro said, turning to Dawn. "Which I have a vegan recipe for, Chica."

"How very considerate," Noah quipped, rolling his eyes.

"Yes," Dawn said, smiling. "I can see in your aura that your older brothers' mistreatment-"

"Perhaps another time, Pequeño?" Alejandro asked, cutting off the blond mid-sentence. "After the challenge, perhaps?"

"Oh," Dawn said with a nod. "Okay."

And with that, the Gophers set to work on their tasks.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I'm neither vegan nor vegetarian, although I understand how Alejandro may have come to that conclusion. It was very kind of him to do that for me." Dawn said, pausing a moment before she shivered. "I sense great darkness on the island."_

* * *

"Alright, if we work in teams of two, we should be able to divide up the tasks fairly evenly." Courtney pointed out. "As the only one with CIT experience, I elect myself as head chef. Does anyone have any objections?"

"Where do we begin?" Duncan commented, smirking.

The brunette whirled to face the punk. "You aren't even _on_ this team!"

"Sha-Lightning knows how to make a high-protein pasta sauce."

"That is surprising," Courtney said, raising her eyebrows at the unexpected confession. She seemed doubtful, but resisted the urge to ask for an alternative. "But that works."

"I know how to boil pasta." Bridgette said, grinning.

"Sha-girl, boiling pasta is easier than dribbling a basketball." Lightning said, not looking impressed by the blonde.

"Okay, so Bridgette can work with Lightning on the main course." Courtney said, tapping a finger against her lips as she thought. "What if we do an Italian theme?"

"Oh, Katie and I made this super cute antipasto platter this one time-" Sadie began.

"Alright, Sadie's on antipasto duty." Courtney cut her off. "Who wants to work with her?"

After a moment of silence, Mike spoke. "I, uh, guess I can."

"Alright, so that leaves Izzy and Cameron on dessert detail. How do you guys feel about custard pastries?" Courtney said, to which both Izzy and Cameron nodded in response. "So that's everyone."

"What about me?" Scott asked.

"You're my assistant." Courtney answered in a matter-of-fact tone. "To help supervise and make sure that everything is going smoothly."

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Quite frankly, I'd be afraid to let Scott anywhere near a kitchen, even if we weren't in a challenge." Courtney said. "Besides, the fact that he might be throwing challenges, I'm not entirely sure that he wouldn't use dirt as seasoning if he was trying to win."_

* * *

"Duncan, Geoff, you're on the peach cobbler." Heather said as her team made their way into the kitchen, everyone but Heather carrying supplies. "DJ, you and Gwen are on ribs. LeShawna and Beth, you're on pineapple skewers and mango dip."

"Girl, let me handle the appetizers." LeShawna said. "I know how to make a pineapple chutney that would melt the socks off the devil."

"Oh really?" Heather said. "That's _so_ great. But since I'm head chef, we're gonna stick to _my_ plan. And that's pineapples with sticks through them. Got it?"

* * *

As Gwen helped mix the homemade barbeque sauce that DJ was still preparing ingredients for, Trent walked by with some supplies he'd gone back to fetch from the truck when it had become apparent that they were missing a few things from the recipe. As he passed, he made eye contact with the goth girl.

When the raven-haired boy had returned to his own team's area, DJ glanced over at the goth, who was staring at the bowl of barbeque sauce like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

"I think he digs you."

Gwen looked up suspiciously. "What makes you say that?"

"He can't keep his eyes off you." DJ said with a grin.

Gwen glanced over at Trent and caught his eye before looking down at the barbecue sauce once more. After a moment of silence, DJ shrugged and focused on his task again, careful not to push Gwen too much.

And then, as he added another ingredient to the sauce, Gwen spoke, her voice almost a whisper.

"He _is_ kind of cute."

And as a blush spread across Gwen's cheeks, DJ grinned. "Called it."

* * *

As she wandered from work station to work station, trying to keep an eye on her teammates' progress and make sure that Scott didn't interfere, she came to a stop at the pasta station. She couldn't help but be somewhat sceptical of Lightning's supposedly delicious pasta sauce.

Stopping by the stove, looked down into the pot with a look of low expectations. Taking a deep breath, she took a ladle of the sauce and lifted it to her lips, eating a small test bite.

"Oh my gosh," Courtney said, her eyes wide with surprise. "This is so good."

"Lightning _said_ it would be." Lightning said, annoyed that she didn't trust his skills.

As Scott and Courtney moved on to check on other stations, Bridgette moved over to the stove to stir the sauce, taking a taste test of her own.

"Lightning, this sauce really _is_ amazing." Bridgette said, moving back to the table to continue cutting tomatoes. "I think you surprised a lot of people today – I don't think anyone expected you to be a master chef."

"Athletes need protein and carbs." Lightning said. "And the Lightning is the greatest athlete, so he needs more protein and carbs than anyone. Sha- _duh_. Besides, pasta is Pops favourite food."

* * *

"So, like, how big should we make the antipasto platter?" Sadie asked, looking at her teammate Mike for direction.

"I dunno." Mike said, shrugging. "Smaller than the pasta plate, I guess?"

"Okay."

" _Hey guys_ , Courtney sent me to check on your progress." Scott said, a warning tone in his voice.

"Everything is all fine over here." Sadie said nervously, forcing a smile.

"Yep." Mike said, equally nervous. "All good."

"I'll let Courtney know and check back again soon."

"Okay." Mike and Sadie chorused.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I promised I wouldn't tell."_ _Sadie said. "_ _Scott doesn't have to police me to make sure I keep my mouth shut._ _I don't wanna get kicked off any more than he does._ _"_

Static.

" _Scott knows about my personalities but he promised he wouldn't tell people if I do whatever he says._ _"_ _Mike said. "But_ _it feels like he's holding me hostage."_

Static.

" _Somebody seems a little nervous." Scott said with a smirk, whittling away at his_ _spear. "_ _Like when vermin see Pappy with his bat._ _Reminds me of home._ _"_

* * *

"These slices are totally uneven." Heather said, pointing at the chunks of pineapple that Beth was taking so much care with. "Switch places with LeShawna."

"What are you talking about?" LeShawna asked before Beth even had a chance to think about protesting, and the brunette ducked her head submissively and did as Heather had ordered. But LeShawna wasn't buying Heather's act. "They look fine to me."

"Um, I didn't get to be _head chef_ because of poor presentation!"

"No," LeShawna said, getting in Heather's face. "You got to be head chef because _you called it_. And who you think you're fooling with this crispy white apron power trip you're on?"

"Are you gonna be a team player or not?" Heather's raised voice immediately attracted the attention of every other contestant in the room.

"Oooh, I'm a team player alright, but I'm also allergic to pineapples!"

"Just get slicing. _Now_." As LeShawna grabbed the knife that Beth had been using, Heather put a fake smile on her face. "Thanks guys."

As LeShawna began to slice the pineapples, clearly angry, a tingling feeling began to spread through her hands and up her wrists as the pineapple juice began to cause an allergic reaction.

"Oooo, two-faced, bossy little-" LeShawna looked down to see the almost immediate response of her skin – hives. Swollen red bumps covered her skin where the tingling feeling was. Annoyed, she turned to Heather. "Ugh. Yo, what do you recommend I do about this?"

Heather took one look at the state of LeShawna's hands and arms as her allergic reaction spread, and made a face. "Yo, I recommend you scratch _after_ we win. Get back to work."

LeShawna was so done with Heather's attitude, but Gwen, DJ and Beth held her back from giving the queen bee a piece of her mind.

* * *

As Bridgette made her way to the sink to wash the tomato juice off her hands, she found herself with Gwen and Zoey, washing barbecue sauce and Alfredo sauce off of their hands respectively.

"Any idea who those poems were written by yet?" Zoey asked, smiling at the other two girls.

"No, but I'm sure it was Trent." Gwen said, casting a glance over to the dark-haired musician, who caught her eye and smiled.

"I don't think they're from Trent." Zoey said. "He's my best friend, so I know him pretty well – he doesn't seem like he writes poetry, just songs."

"Song lyrics are a type of poetry." Gwen pointed out.

"No, they're probably from Scott." Bridgette said. "When I was freaking out over the toboggan challenge, he just walked away. He probably felt bad and wrote these poems to make up for it."

"Yeah, I seriously doubt that." Gwen said, rolling her eyes.

"Bridgette, we're in the middle of a challenge right now." Courtney said, coming over to the group with her hands on her hips.

"I know Courtney – we're just talking while we wash our hands." Bridgette answered.

"Maybe it's from Duncan." Zoey said, to which Bridgette and Gwen both burst out laughing.

"Maybe _what_ 's from Duncan?" Courtney asked, her eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"We found this poem, and we've been trying to figure out who it's from." Zoey explained. "Gwen thinks it's from Trent, Bridgette thinks it's from Scott, and I think it could be from Mike. But maybe we're all wrong. Maybe it's from Duncan."

Courtney rolled her eyes.

"It's possible." Zoey said, grinning.

"I doubt it." Courtney said. "Duncan is hardly cultured enough to be the poetry-writing type. If anyone here was capable of writing poetry, it would probably be Alejandro."

"But if they're from Alejandro, then who are they for?" Zoey asked as the four girls glanced over at the handsome Latino.

It was Gwen who had the punchline for what they hadn't even realized was a joke.

"Heather."

And with that, the four of them burst out laughing at the most preposterous idea any of them had ever heard. Someone as charming and handsome as Alejandro would never go for someone as vindictive and mean as Heather.

* * *

"What is this?" Courtney asked, standing in front of Cameron and Izzy with her hands on her hips. "You were _supposed_ to make custard pastries."

"Iz-Izzy thought we should make cake instead." Cameron said, regarding the brunette with wide eyes.

"But _I'm_ head chef, _I'm_ supposed to make the decisions and _I_ decided that we were going to serve custard pastries-"

"Chill out Courtney, you can have your cake and eat it too, you know." Izzy said, grating an orange over the cake. Courtney clenched her fists in irritation.

"Don't worry Courtney, I made sure we followed the recipe precisely – there shouldn't be any surprises." Cameron said in a low voice as Izzy focused on the cake.

The brunette, realizing that it had been a losing battle from the start, trying to tell Izzy what to do, sighed. "Okay, well, just don't screw it up."

* * *

" _Excuse me_ , I need a bathroom break." LeShawna said, tapping Heather on the shoulder with her hands still covered in a swollen red rash from the pineapple juice.

"And I need evenly cut pineapple chunks and a hundred thousand dollars," Heather snapped, looking down with disdain at the pineapple chunks that LeShawna had cut. "But we can't always have what we want, when we want it, can we?"

"Well then how 'bout that old sayin' that if you want something done right, you do it yourself?" LeShawna snapped.

"I'm _head chef_." Heather pointed out, putting extra emphasis on the title.

"And I'm going to the bathroom." LeShawna said, turning around and walking towards the door. "Later, Queenie."

"Ugh." Heather took out her frustrations on the table. "It's like I'm on a team of morons!"

LeShawna paused for a moment by the door before nature's call reminded her why she was walking out in the first place.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Oh, that is it!" LeShawna said, outraged._ _"_ _Someone's gotta teach this girl a little respect."_

* * *

"You really know how to rally a team, Heather." Alejandro called, smirking at the raven-haired beauty.

"Oh, stuff it." Heather said, clenching her fists in annoyance.

"I commend you on your team leadership skills." he added, still smirking.

"How about you commend _this_." Heather said, grabbing the nearest food item – an orange – and whipping it across the room at Alejandro's face.

"Nice try." Alejandro taunted as he sidestepped the orange easily.

"Oof!" Unfortunately Trent was not so lucky, and took an orange to the gut. "What was that for?"

"Hey, be careful!" Zoey said to Heather, putting a hand on Trent's arm as if to ask if he was okay. When he nodded, she looked over at the Bass' Head Chef. "Someone could get hurt."

"I was about to suggest we make bass instead of salmon, but they seem to be doing a pretty good job roasting themselves without our help." Jo commented, a mean grin on her face.

" _Shut up_!" Heather demanded, throwing another orange at the Gophers, this time aimed at Jo, who also dodged as easily as Alejandro had.

But Jo was less forgiving than Alejandro, and instead she narrowed her eyes. "Oh, it is _so_ on!"

And with that, Jo took a handful of the Alfredo pasta that she and Zoey had been making, and tossed it across the room to where Heather was standing.

Heather had not been expecting return fire, and shrieked when the Alfredo sauce splattered against her shirt.

"You should duck." Dawn advised teammate Noah, and for the first time since they'd arrived on the island – he didn't question her. A custard pastry splatted against the wall behind him, passing right through where his face had been only seconds prior. And with that, most of the Gopher team ducked behind their work station for cover.

War had been declared.

* * *

Despite not being directly involved in the food fight, all members of the Thrashing Bears had ducked behind their own counters for cover, lest a stray handful of pasta make its course towards their team. As it was, spaghetti shrapnel had already spattered against the sides of their work-stations, and Courtney had grabbed all the food and moved it to a safer location the moment the first handful of Alfredo had begun to fly.

Behind the counters, Cameron sat with his back against their work station, his eyes wide with fear. He'd grabbed the flambe cake that Izzy had insisted they make and taken cover, trying to keep their precious dessert safe from the food fight, just as Courtney had instructed.

"Oh no, what do we do?" Cameron heard Sadie asked her partner Mike as they sat behind the next work station over, occasionally peeking out over the counter-top to check to see if the Gophers and Bass were still flinging food across the room at one another.

"I don't know." Mike replied, glancing over at one of the other tables for their team, his eyes wide with questions for team leader Courtney. He gasped and suddenly his voice became all wheezy. "Back in my day, we didn't have food fights, we respected our food and didn't waste it!"

"Aaaaah-ah-ah!" Izzy let forth a war cry that sounded suspiciously like George of the Jungle's signature cry, and hopped from counter to counter with a handful of pasta.

"Izzy, don't you dare throw that!" Courtney commanded, regarding her teammate with a look of scorn. But the redhead fired anyway before diving behind the counters for cover. "Izzy stop it! I forbid you to get involved!"

"Wow, the nerve of those other teams, eh?" Scott asked, glancing over at his super-jock teammate with a raised eyebrow. When Lightning didn't respond immediately, the redneck continued. "Just throwing things everywhere like they don't even realize you've probably got the best throwing arm of anyone."

"You're sha-right!" Lightning said, suddenly enraged. Standing up, he grabbed a handful of whatever food was nearest and flung it across the room, not even caring what it was. When the red pepper that he'd thrown hit and stunned Beth, Lightning did a fist pump. "Sha-score!"

Courtney stood up, her hands on her hips and her nose scrunched up in anger. "Stop it this instant! This is completely undignified-"

She almost didn't duck in time to dodge the handful of chocolate pudding that hit the back wall with a _splat!_

Peeking over the counter top again, Courtney was surprised when a hand grabbed her and pulled her back into the safety zone.

"You know, you'd be a lot more fun without that pole up your butt."

Courtney scoffed. "I'm, like, the most easygoing person I know!"

"Oh, yeah, you're _totally_ laid back, princess." he said sarcastically, smirking as he took a pastry bag full of custard and drew a line across her cheek.

"Ugh. Why are you even over here?" She frowned as she wiped away the pastry filling. "You're not even on this team!"

And with that, she grabbed a bowl full of the custard that Cameron had made prior to Izzy's complete upheaval of the dessert menu, and dumped it on Duncan's head.

Then she giggled. "You're right. This _is_ fun."

* * *

Laying back on the floor as food flew above her, Beth blinked. After being struck dead in the forehead by a red bell pepper thrown by Lightning, the dorky farm girl had been knocked flat on her back. Her tin-and-tooth mouth was still agape as she lay there, still completely stunned.

LeShawna, having been away from the kitchen when the food fight had initially broken out, stopped dead when she walked back into the area and saw the three teams engaged in a war of epic proportions. Quickly, she rejoined her team behind their work station for cover, debating pouring an entire bowl of mango puree on the queen bee as she did so.

Meanwhile, Heather grabbed for a handful of custard pastries to throw at the enemy, but found her arsenal empty.

"Beth!" Heather commanded. "Get me more pastries!"

But Beth was still too stunned to realize that Heather had given her an order.

" _Letting people walk all over you doesn't make you happy, I'm sure."_ Dawn's words from that morning repeated over and over in Beth's mind.

"Beth! What are you staring at?!" Heather demanded. "Get me more pastries!"

It was then that Beth seemed to finally be broken free from her trance and stood up, bracing herself for a moment as the world spun.

" _I said_ : get me more pastries."

"Um. . . no." Came Beth's reply.

And for a moment, the entire hall went completely silent.

" _What_ did you just say?" Heather demanded, her voice dripping with venom. When Beth didn't suddenly cower and do as she'd bid, the queen bee gave a new order. "Take it back."

Beth took a deep breath before re-asserting her answer. "No."

"Take. It. Back." Heather ordered, clenching her fists.

"No." Beth said firmly. "I'm tired of being your slave."

"You tell her!" LeShawna said, grinning in support of the dorky farm girl, earning a dark look from Heather.

And with that, the ceasefire in the hall ended and the battle resumed.

* * *

Cameron was still huddled behind the counter, trying to protect the flambe cake from harm when a ginger-haired girl half-caked in food fight shrapnel bounded over the counter, sliding across it like she was headed for a home run. Her hands grabbed the edge of the counter as she went over, using the grip to twist her body around so that she landed on her feet in the safe zone.

Cameron, startled, regarded her with wide eyes before having to use his body as a shield to protect the flambe cake when Izzy shook like a dog to rid herself of bits of food.

Blinking a few times, the girl observed the cake in the boy's hands, a thoughtful expression on her face.

After a moment, she spoke.

"I've always wanted to be kissed during an explosion."

"Wait, what?" Cameron asked, turning to regard his challenge partner Izzy with a bewildered look. And before he could process what had just been said, Izzy grabbed the front of his shirt with one hand and pulling him against her while she lowered a lit match towards the flambe cake with the other.

_BOOM!_

Cameron, stunned by both Izzy's forwardness and the massive explosion, seemed to deflate against the counter as the wild ginger-haired girl flung herself back into the midst of the battle.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _That was probably the most romantic thing that's ever happened to me." Izzy said, a dreamy expression on her face._

Static.

_A high pitched squeak was the only sound that a shocked and somewhat disturbed-looking Cameron could muster._

* * *

Heather glared, before grabbing the back of the dorky girl's shirt and pulling her back down under cover before the girl could fire her latest ammunition.

"I've decided to give you one last chance." Heather said before the girl could protest. "If you take it back, you can re-join the alliance."

"Take back what?" Beth asked, puzzled.

"The 'N' word. 'No'."

"I don't wanna take it back." Beth said.

"You are _nothing_ without me!" Heather said, glaring.

"You know why we keep losing challenges?"

"Because they're lame and stupid?"

"No; because you're so busy being mean that you don't even try." Beth said, still trying to be civil. "All you can think of is bossing us around!"

Heather gasped, before grabbing a custard from her newly replenished ammunition pile, and tossing it at Beth's face.

"Oh, that's _it_!" Beth said, losing her temper.

"Bring it, dweeb!" Heather said, challenging the shorter girl.

And then a tomato hit the queen bee in the back of the head and she went rigid, turning around slowly with a murderous look in her eyes.

" _You_." Heather said accusingly, before holding a hand out to Beth. "Give me that tub of oranges."

But instead of obeying her, Beth grabbed an orange from the tub and threw it at Heather.

LeShawna had the most mischievous grin on her face as she spoke to the Bass' _head chef_. "If I were you, I'd find somewhere else to hide."

And with that, she and Beth both began to pelt the queen bee, forcing the thinner girl to run for cover elsewhere.

"Oh, I've got an idea!" LeShawna said, smirking as she pointed at a door nearby. And with that, she and Beth pelted both sides of the door, trapping Heather between two war-zones and getting closer with each fruit thrown as the two approached.

Heather yanked the door open and ducked behind it to use it as cover, but LeShawna wasn't satisfied with that, so she sprinted forward and pushed the door closed, trapping Heather inside the fridge.

"You can't do this!" Heather called from inside the fridge. "I'm _head chef_."

"Do you think Heather's going to be really mad at us?" Beth asked, regarding her teammate with a concerned expression.

"I. WILL. DESTROY. YOU." Heather screeched from inside the fridge, banging on the inside of the door.

"She'll get over it." LeShawna said with a shrug. "Girl needs to learn how to chill."

Having soothed Beth's nerves, the duo re-engaged in the war efforts of their teammates.

* * *

A hat that was sitting on the counter was suddenly hit off by a stray orange and knocked onto a brunette male's head. His partner for the challenge, Sadie, looked over at him when he gasped.

"What's the matter, Mike?" Sadie asked.

"Name's Manitoba, sheila." he said in an Australian accent, tipping his hat to her.

"Sorry." Sadie said, genuinely sorry for her mistake despite her confusion. She jumped when an orange hit the back wall with a very loud _thud_!

Poking his head up to survey the situation, the brunette male dipped down to dodge a handful of spaghetti and turned to grin at her. "Seems we're in a bit of a tight spot."

"Is it bad?" Sadie asked, regarding him with her eyes stretched with with concern.

"Don't worry sheila." Manitoba assured her, still speaking in an Australian accent. "I'll keep you safe."

And with that, he grabbed the orange from the floor that had rolled to Sadie's feet after hitting the wall, and leaped over the counter as Izzy had done only moments prior.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I feel, like, so embarrassed. I totally thought his name was Mike! Some teammate I am!" Sadie said, facepalming at herself for a moment. Then she looked at the confessional camera again. "But that was a totally scary situation! I was, like, legitimately scared for my life."_

* * *

The aftermath of the battle was grim.

The kitchens were an absolute disaster area. Pasta of all varieties clung in clumps to walls, counters and some campers. Fruits and vegetables, badly dented and squashed from having been thrown at other campers, but most having collided with other objects instead, now lay scattered on the floor. Fruit juices oozed from the damaged produce, making the floor slippery in some places and sticky in others.

Beth, Courtney and Alejandro made their way out into the presentation area where Chris waited at a table with a crisp white table cloth. Alejandro lit a three-pronged candlestick, Courtney set up a vase of wildflowers and Beth placed a small ornament in a ring of flowers.

Smears and splatters of sauces and marinades decorated the teens like war paint.

"Your meal is coming right up, sir." Beth said, giving the host her best smile, despite the two lines of barbeque sauce someone had drawn on each of her cheeks.

Courtney subconsciously wiped her cheek, where Duncan had drawn a line of custard earlier, not even realizing that several strands of spaghetti were in her hair, looking very much like a crown. Alejandro, for the most part, looked unscathed aside from a hand print in what might have been ketchup on his forearm.

Chris regarded the teens with a smirk.

"Your food will arrive shortly, monsieur." Alejandro said, bowing to the host.

"We hope everything will be to your liking." Courtney said, bowing as she had no skirts with which to curtsey.

* * *

LeShawna regarded what her team had made for the challenge with a scrutinizing frown. Some of the custard pastries were less than pristine, having been salvaged from the aftermath of the food fight. The pineapple skewers had been splashed with pasta clumps, but they seemed alright now that they'd been wiped off. Their only saving grace was the glorious rack of ribs that DJ and Gwen had worked on. It had somehow managed to escape the worst damage of the food fight, which was more than they could say for the rest of their meal.

Inhaling deeply above the rack of ribs, LeShawna smiled. "We might just win this thing yet, ya'll. Alright, let's do this!"

And with that, she and Beth grabbed the plate of appetizers – the pineapple skewers with mango sauce, and moved out into the dining area.

* * *

Sitting with the Bears' appetizer in front of him, Chris tested the first dish, chewing thoughtfully. After swallowing the first few bites, he paused, before giving a thumbs-up to a nervous Sadie, and a now hatless Mike. Despite the food fight, most of their dishes had escaped contamination as Courtney had been very proactive in ensuring that people were protecting the precious dishes she'd had them prepare.

"Your antipasto passed the test-o." Chris said. "Seven points."

"We did it, Manitoba!" Sadie said, holding out her hand to high-five her partner, who only regarded her with wide eyes and left her hanging.

"M-Manitoba?"

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Manitoba must have taken over during the food fight." Mike said, eyes wide with distress. "I admit that I've never been able to control my alternates, but up until joining this competition, at least I was in the driver's seat most of the time."_

_Mike anxiously ran his fingers through his hair. "Now I feel like I'm always losing control of me."_

* * *

"Pass the pasta, please." Chris said cheerfully as a plate of delicious-looking spaghetti and meatballs was placed in front of him. Twirling his fork in the dish, he lifted several noodles to his lips and began to chew.

Bridgette fidgeted, nervous for the result. Her partner, Lightning, seemed to have little worry that his sauce would be less than spectacular.

Chris swallowed the first bite of pasta and grinned, clearly pleased. "On a scale of one to ten: fifteen!"

"Sha- _duh_!" Lightning said, grinning in victory.

Bridgette grabbed the plate of pasta and took it back to the kitchen with Lightning, just as Sadie had done with the antipasto only moments before.

Izzy, with a Cheshire cat grin on her face and Cameron, wide eyed and looking like he was in some kind of trance, brought out the Bears' final piece: the orange flambe cake.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Izzy was actually my first kiss." Cameron said, still looking stunned. "It feels like pressing your face against meat, but nice. And orange-flavoured."_

* * *

"This looks promising." Chris said, sticking a fork into the orange-iced cake.

Unfortunately, looks can be deceiving. As the Thrashing Bears, particularly Courtney, watched in horror, the cake collapsed into a puff of soot and ash the moment Chris touched the delicate dessert with his fork. Now wary, Chris took a forkful of the cake to try, but began to cough and choke the moment it touched his mouth. After Courtney got him a glass of water to wash out his soot-filled mouth with, they nervously awaited their results.

"Disappointing." Chris said, frowning. "This is so bad I should _take_ points away from you."

The entire team tensed.

"But I won't." The Bears' breathed a collective sigh of relief. "For _now_."

* * *

"Next up: Gophers." Chris said, turning to the teens. A plate of Alfredo pasta was pushed closer to the host, which he regarded with a frown. "There's hardly any left."

"We – uh – didn't want to spoil your appetite!" Zoey said quickly, feigning the most innocent smile she could manage as she nudged a sheepish-looking Jo, who forced a smile too.

"Whatever." Chris said with a shrug, taking a bite of the Alfredo appetizer. After a moment of thoughtful deliberation, he shrugged. "Passable. Four points."

Jo and Zoey tried not to look too disappointed at the outcome as they grabbed the dish and made their way back to the kitchen.

"Hey Red," Jo said, glaring at her teammate. "Don't ever nudge me like that again."

"Don't be mad at me – I was just covering for you." Zoey said, putting the plate on the counter and holding her hands up in surrender. "After all, you _were_ the one who used almost all of our Alfredo for the food fight."

Jo opened her mouth as though to argue, but closed it indignantly when she realized Zoey was right.

* * *

"Our main course is Salmon en Croute." Alejandro announced as Trent placed a delicious looking dish before the host.

"This has potential." Chris said, taking a bite of the fish. Thoughtfully, he tasted the accompanying asparagus and mushrooms. A moment of tension-filled silence ended with a nod. "Nice work. Nine points."

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Yes!" Trent said, pumping his fist in the air. "There's a reason why nine is my lucky number."_

* * *

"And for dessert, we have a vegan lemon mousse." Alejandro said as Dawn came forward with the vegan dessert and her challenge partner Noah looked on with an annoyed expression.

"Vegan, huh?" Chris said reluctantly, poking at the mousse with his spoon. After a moment, he shrugged. "Pretty good, considering it's vegan. Seven points. That brings the Gophers up to twenty points, only two points behind the Bears."

Noah rolled his eyes in annoyance before he grabbed the mousse and took it back to the kitchen with Dawn. Alejandro glanced at the host, irritated, then followed his teammates back to the preparation area.

Finally LeShawna and Beth made their way through the saloon doors with the pineapple skewers and mango dip. Placing it down in front of the host, he sniffed. He took a bite and made a face.

"It's warm and tastes like tomatoes." He said. "Three points."

Next, DJ and Gwen brought out the ribs. The host took a good sniff of the ribs, and grinned before tasting the dish. He chewed slowly, deliberating carefully before giving the team eight points.

Unfortunately, when Geoff and Duncan brought out the custard pastries, Chris looked less than impressed. They were all damaged, some more squashed than others. Most had managed to lose their custard filling between when the pastries were used as ammunition for the food fight, and when the boys picked them up and put them on a serving plate for Chris to taste.

"These look . . . _used_." Chris said, poking at one of the squashed custards.

"You can thank our _head chef_ for that." Duncan said, rolling his eyes.

Beth gasped. "Oh my gosh! Heather's still in the fridge."

And with that, she sprinted back into the kitchen, leaving teammate LeShawna with all eyes on her.

"What? Girl was making everyone trip." LeShawna said, hands planted firmly on her hips.

"Oh, I hear that." Chris agreed.

"You guys are s-s-s-so dead." Heather said, teeth chattering before she turned to Chris. "Is it over?"

"Yes." Chris said. "The Bears win twenty-two to fifteen, and not just because the pastries sucked. The appetizers were pretty bad too."

"Great. That's just great!" Heather said, clearly irritated. "Why do we keep losing, people? These custards look awful! Did you even _try_?"

"Yeah." Duncan said, shaking his head in annoyance. "Until you started throwing them at people."

"Major hard to make them look good after that, brah." Geoff agreed with a nod.

"You mean these were on the _floor_?!" Chris asked, horrified as he regarded the custard pastries he'd had to taste test.

Marching over to the table where Chris had tested the food, she glared at the small wooden idol that stood in the ring of flowers. "What is this? I didn't approve this."

"I-I brought it back as a souvenir." Beth said, grabbing it. "You know, from the other island."

"You did _what_?" Heather asked.

"You mean _Boney_ Island?" Chris asked, horrified. "You mean the deadliest island in Muskoka? The one I specifically said not to take anything from or you'll be cursed?"

"Yeah." Beth said, cringing. "I didn't know, I'll put it back."

And with that, she grabbed the idol and fled to do as she'd said she would.

"Okay, so the Bears lead eight members to the Bass's soon to be six." Chris said. "And as promised, the winners will be enjoying a reward tonight. A five star dinner under the stars."

* * *

"I don't know about ya'll, but Heather has got to go." LeShawna told Gwen, Duncan, DJ and Geoff as they sat on the steps outside of their cabin.

"Yeah, but Beth cursed us with that wooden tiki doll thing, brah." Geoff reminded her.

"True." LeShawna said before folding her hands together and looking up. "Dear curse, please hit Heather next. And if possible, hit her upside the head."

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Today's vote was really hard." Heather said. "But only because there are so many annoying people to choose from."_

* * *

The teens seated around the campfire were extremely tense. Heather kept shifting her glare from LeShawna to Beth.

"I have seven Gophers sitting in front of me tonight, but only six bits of sweet, fluffy safety in my hands." Chris placed the tray of marshmallows on a nearby stump. "So, good luck. When I call your name, come up and get your marshmallow."

Chris paused for a moment, before beginning his list of names.

"Gwen. DJ. Geoff and Duncan."

He paused again, letting tension mount once more between the three angry ladies.

"LeShawna."

And then there were two.

"Heather, Beth. Down to you. Whoever doesn't get this last marshmallow must immediately walk the dock of shame and leave on the boat of losers. _Forever._ "

Beth trembled, her fingers crossed desperately for luck. Heather cast a glare at her teammate.

"The final marshmallow goes to," Chris began, before pausing yet again. After a very extended dramatic paused, he finally said a name. "Heather."

The raven-haired girl immediately began to grin, and spoke to Beth sweetly. "You heard him. Boat of losers – that way." And then because she needed to rub it in further. "That really was silly of you to take that doll from the island."

"See ya, girl." LeShawna said, lifting her hand in a farewell wave.

"Well, that's it for tonight." Chris said. "You might want to burn some sage to get rid of any lingering curse vibes."

"Cool, will Chef give us some sage?" LeShawna asked.

"Nope." Chris said, smirking. "Good luck with that."

* * *

After the campfire ceremony, the teens had made their way back up to the main lodge to finish the leftover of the day's challenge. The Bears got a five star meal under the stars, but the other two teams were willing to settle for room temperature leftovers.

"What are you maggots doing?" Chef's drill sergeant voice startled the teens.

"Uhh. . . eating the leftovers." Zoey supplied after a moment of silence.

"Oh no you don't." Chef said, glaring at the teens. "Is my food not good enough for you maggots?!"

Another silence was followed by Zoey's attempt to be polite. "We – uh – just didn't want to waste all this food-"

"It's not going to go to waste." Chef shouted, making the teens flinch. "Anyway, it's good that you're all here."

"Why?" Heather asked.

Chef got a very wicked look on his face as he pulled out a handful of toothbrushes and distributed them to the teens.

"Hey, this is my toothbrush-" Gwen began to protest.

"You're right, it you maggots had better start scrubbing A.S.A.P." Chef said, glaring at all the teens. "If I come back here tomorrow morning and find a single speck of spaghetti sauce on the underside of a table, you'll _all_ be on latrine duty for the rest of your days!"

And with that, he began to wheel out the cart of room-temperature food from the day's challenge, leaving the teens to sigh in frustration.

* * *

**The Votes:**

" _Nobody says 'no' to me." Heather said, filing her nails. "Buh-bye Beth."_

Static.

" _Heather is the queen of mean." LeShawna said. "It's time for her to say sayonara."_

Static.

" _Mama always told me not to go messing around with magic and curses." DJ said, shuddering. "Why couldn't Beth just have listened to Mama?"_

Static.

" _Shouldda just let Geoff be head chef." Duncan said. "I vote for Heather."_

Static.

" _I vote for Heather." Beth said before taking a deep breath. She looked kind of relieved. "Oh my gosh. I did it. I actually did it. I voted for Heather."_

Static.

" _Heather's mean, but Beth totally cursed our team with that freaky tiki idol." Geoff said. "Sorry brah."_

Static.

" _Heather is a royal pain, but we_ have _lost every challenge since we went to Boney Island." Gwen said, shrugging. After a moment, she sighed. "I vote for Beth."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eliminated so far:
> 
> 37th: Katie  
> 36th: Staci  
> 35th: Sierra  
> 34th: Sam  
> 33rd: Eva  
> 32nd: Owen  
> 31st: Beverly  
> 30th/29th: Lindsay & Ezekiel  
> 28th: Justin  
> 27th: Brick  
> 26th: Dakota  
> 25th: Anne Maria  
> 24th: Harold  
> 23rd: Tyler  
> 22nd: Beth


	17. The Key to Caginess

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Screaming Gophers: Dawn, Alejandro, Noah, Cody, Trent, Zoey, Jo
> 
> Killer Bass: Duncan, LeShawna, Geoff, Gwen, Heather, DJ
> 
> Thrashing Bears: Sadie, Cameron, Courtney, Scott, Lightning, Izzy, Bridgette, Mike

"Last time on Total Drama Island, things started to heat up in the kitchen: Courtney, Bridgette, Zoey and Gwen tried to figure out the identity of the mystery poet. Scott got a little squirmy when Sadie and Mike teamed up together, and the chemistry got _explosive_ when Izzy kissed Cameron, which was no doubt a terrifying experience. The tension between the teams was running high, culminating in a food fight of epic proportions with _more_ friendly fire when Beth got inspired to turn on their queen of mean Head Chef, Heather. Man, I love these kids. In the end it was bye-bye Beth, after her teammates found out she took a cursed idol from Boney Island. Will Beth's elimination mark the end of the Bass' losing streak, or does the curse still linger? Find out today on Total Drama Island!"

_**Cue theme song.** _

"Today's breakfast is French-Hawaiian-Italian fusion casserole!" Chef announced to the teens, dropping a scoop of slop onto a plate. And then with a satisfied chuckle, he added. "With a little extra _something_."

"So, like, leftovers from the cooking challenge?" Sadie asked as she took the offered plate of food.

"Yeah! You got a problem with that?" Chef demanded, raising his voice.

"S-sir, no, sir!" Sadie responded, saluting the ex-soldier with an almost trembling hand.

Moving to the table where her teammates were seated, Sadie's foot caught on a loose floorboard and Gophers member Noah ended up wearing the vast majority of what had been on her plate.

"Oh goody. _Just_ what I needed." The bookworm muttered.

"Oh my gosh! I'm, like, _so_ sorry!" Sadie said, clapping her hands over her mouth.

"Now I'll have to go all the way to the cabins to change." He said, sighing. "As if I didn't already have enough physically exerting things that I don't want to do."

"Is there anything that _isn't_ too much effort for you?" Jo retorted, rolling her eyes.

"Yes," He didn't miss a beat. "Reading."

"Deadweight."

"Cutthroat."

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

"My mistake, I thought it was." He couldn't fight a yawn.

"What? Just thinking about walking exhausts you?" Jo snorted. "Pathetic."

So when Jo yawned immediately after, Noah smirked. "So what's your excuse?"

Glancing around with increasingly heavy eyelids, Noah realized that at least half of the other campers in the room were slumped over in their seats, unconscious, and the other half looked like they were almost there. Lowering his increasingly heavy head against the table to save energy, he opened his mouth to warn those of his teammates that were still awake.

But then he was out too.

* * *

" _Good morning campers_." Chris's voice was hardly the first thing she wanted to hear in the morning. _Especially_ when he sounded so damn pleased with himself.

"Ugh." The queen bee said, sitting up groggily and rubbing her eyes. Regarding her surroundings, she clenched her fists. "What the hell! Chris!"

* * *

" _We t_ _hought you might_ _enjoy_ _this challenge, Duncan._ _Remind you of_ _your home away from_ _home,_ _ya know?_ _"_ Chris's sadistic voice crackled over a nearby loudspeaker.

"Aww, man." Duncan said, leaning on part of the cage to test the stability and strength. It didn't budge. "This bites."

"Remind you of mistakes you wish you hadn't made?" Courtney asked softly, offering a reassuring smile.

"Mistakes? Yeah, mistakes like getting caught." he said, smirking as her smile evaporated.

"Couldda guessed that'd be the only regret you have." LeShawna said.

"Who said I don't have more regrets?" he cast an annoyed look at the girl in the second enclosure. "I mean, I regret the fact that you're still here."

"You feeling all macho and brave now that you've got six feet and two cages separating us, _tough guy_?"

* * *

" _I call this challenge 'the jailbreak'. Your_ _objective is to_ _escape these_ _cage_ _s and_ _be the first team back to camp._ _So yeah, go forth and conquer or whatever._ " The loudspeaker crackled, and then went silent.

Cameron knelt down and scraped up a handful of sand, letting it run through his fingers. "We could probably dig our way – Izzy, what are you doing?"

"Escaping." She replied. Or at least, that's what he thought she said. It was hard to decipher her words, since she was gnawing on the bars of their enclosure and hadn't even paused to speak.

* * *

"Oh no, no, no, no, no." Bridgette said, pulling at the bars of her cage desperately with trembling hands. Taking a deep breath, she called out as loudly as she could. "Hello! Anybody! Is there anybody out there?"

There was no response.

She was alone. Alone in the woods. In a cage. Alone in a cage in the middle of the woods.

Could this day possibly get any worse?

* * *

"Just when I thought this day couldn't get any better," Noah said, regarding the now-dried food stuck to his shirt as he sat against the bars of the enclosure.

"It _is_ a pretty sweet day out today." Geoff agreed before throwing his weight against the bars of the enclosure, but not making any progress in terms of escape.

"That was sarcasm."

"Oh." Geoff said, pausing for a moment to regard the other boy. "Bummer."

* * *

"Well this sucks." Gwen said monotonously, laying on her back and staring up at the top of the enclosure.

"You could help, Goth Ball." Jo snapped, winding up and aiming a well-placed kick at the bamboo bars, but finding it was still fairly solid.

"I'll get right on that." Gwen said, rolling her eyes.

"And here I thought the laziest person in this game was on my team." Jo retorted. "Who are you – Noah?"

"You sure know how to motivate people, don't you?" Gwen quipped, glaring at the jock-ette.

"Between the three of us, we should be able to figure a way out pretty easily." DJ said quickly, interrupting in an attempt to diffuse the tension between the two women.

Gwen sat up with a sigh and shrugged. "I guess."

* * *

"Ugh. Stupid jerk." Heather said, wrapping her arms around herself as she shivered. She was both assuming and hoping that her blanket was still in the mess hall.

"Echinacea?" Dawn asked, holding her hand out to the queen bee.

"You think you're so funny," she snapped. "You're not."

"The juice of the Echinacea flower is said to help cure colds."

"So, what? You want me to eat some random leaves you found in the woods?" Heather made no attempt to hide her disgust nor to bridle her contempt. "No thank you."

* * *

"Sha-OW!" He exclaimed as he slammed against the bamboo bars for a third time in under two minutes.

"I don't think this is going to work." Zoey told the jock. "We've got to think and figure out another way to get out of here."

"Lightning's not so good at thinking." The jock said, backing up so he could get a bit of a run at it before he slammed against the bars again.

"I'm sure you could be, if you tried." Zoey said optimistically, but the jock just sprinted the few feet and slammed into the enclosure wall once again.

It looked like she was going to have to figure a way out on her own.

* * *

"I wish Eva or Katie or B were here." Sadie said with a dejected sigh. "They'd be able to figure out how to get us out in, like, no time."

"If Dakota were here, she'd be able to call for help." Cody responded, sighing too.

"Dakota is, like, super skinny. If she were here, she'd probably be able to fit through the bars and save us from the outside."

They'd already inspected every part of the enclosure, looking for possible weaknesses and come up with nothing. The cage was made entirely of thick bamboo poles and metal bindings, giving them squares of open space that were just under a foot in diameter – big, but not big enough for anyone but a young child to squeeze through.

They were going to have to think of another way to escape.

* * *

He really was not in shape. His biceps were already aching and the hole he'd been digging in the sand with two pieces of flat rock he'd found was only about a foot deep. The rock had only been one piece when he'd found it, but had split in half the moment he tried hacking away at the bamboo bars, so he'd taken to digging instead.

"Caahh, hi he hhkknnn." Izzy said, still attempting to chew her way out.

"Pardon?" Cameron asked, staring at the redhead with a bewildered expression behind his bottle-bottom glasses.

She pulled back from the bars for a moment and spat out a mouthful of bamboo chips.

"I don't know how pandas eat this stuff." She said. "You know, pandas didn't used to eat bamboo. When they roamed wild in Canada and the United States, they were ferocious carnivores. But after their prey, the American Bison almost went extinct in the 1980's, they all migrated to China and started eating bamboo."

"Uh, Izzy, pandas have livedon bamboo diets for millions of years."

"Haha, you would think, right?"

* * *

"This is probably the worst challenge we've done so far." Noah said. "And that's only partially because I'm still wearing breakfast."

"At least you've got lunch, brah." Geoff said, grinning. "I don't even know how long we've been out here, man. I'm starved."

Regarding the stuck-on food, he frowned. "Trust me, it's not all its cracked up to be."

* * *

"Hey Gwen, what if I give you a boost?" DJ asked, pointing up. "The bars at the top look further apart. Maybe you could climb through?"

The goth looked up. "I don't know, they look pretty close."

"I bet you're thin enough that you'd fit through."

"Hmm, maybe." Gwen said, shrugging before she got to her feet. Brushing the grass off her skirt, she looked up at the bars above them.

"What's to stop Goth-ball from getting out and ditching us?"

"Gwen and I are on the same team." DJ answered. "I trust that she wouldn't bail on a teammate."

"I don't."

"Well you're welcome to figure your own way out if you want." Gwen snapped, rolling her eyes.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Chris only said you have to be the first team back to camp." Jo said. "He didn't say whether it's the first people who get there or the first team with all its members to get back to camp, and I don't trust Goth-ball to not cut and run. Not that I need anyone's help to get out of that cage."_

* * *

Sighing in frustration, the redhead winced as Lightning slammed into the enclosure wall again. He'd been at it for _hours_.

"Sha-OW!"

"You know, if it's painful, maybe you should st-"

"Sha-OW!"

"Stop!" Zoey exclaimed in frustration. "Stop! This isn't working! We need to figure out another way to do this!"

Lightning paused. "Girl, are you trying to sha- _lose_?"

"No, but-"

"Then be quiet! The Lightning is working!"

"You're not getting us any closer to being free! You're just hurting yourself! You can't win if you injure yourself!"

"No pain, no game!" Lightning retorted, before striking a pose that emphasized his biceps. "And the Lightning's got game!"

"Actually, I think the saying is 'no pain, no gain', not 'no game'."

"Either way, Lightning's got it!" The jock said, rubbing his sore shoulder for a moment. "My Pops always says 'if you don't win, you're not my son'! And Lightning wants to see his Pops again!"

"That – that's _awful_!" Zoey said, horrified.

Lightning turned to her, eyes narrowed. "Did you just insult my Pops? Oh no you sha-didn't!"

"No – I just – to each their own!" Zoey said quickly. "If – if that's okay with you."

Lightning glared at her for a moment, before turning back to his previous task. "Now leave the Lightning to his pain and his game!"

"Argh!" Zoey cried out, running her fingers through her hair in frustration as Lightning began to slam against the bamboo bars yet again. But then she froze, her dark eyes wide, and she pulled a thin piece of metal out of her hair.

A bobby pin.

_She could pick the lock._

* * *

Pausing to spit out another mouthful of bamboo chips and splinters, Izzy turned to the bubble boy.

"One time, I had to chew my way out of prison."

"How do you even-"

Izzy cut him off. "Halfway through, the tunnel caved in and I was stuck for three days before this army of ants showed up and told me that I was their lost queen."

Cameron paused from his task to regard the girl with a sceptical expression.

And then, out of nowhere, "We need to break up. You've been crowding me all day, and I just need you to give me some space."

"Break up? But we were never even dating." Cameron said in confusion, but by the time he was done the sentence, Izzy had vanished, and he realized that the redhead had actually managed to chew her way to freedom.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _How can you break up with someone you're not even dating?!" Cameron asked, eyes wide with bewilderment. "I mean, both people have to agree to be 'dating' in the first place!" He frowned. "Right?"_

* * *

Carefully trying to navigate across the top of the enclosure after DJ had boosted her to the top, a glint in the grass caught her eye. Climbing down the side, she leaned down to inspect the shiny object.

"Hey guys, look what I found." Gwen said, straightening with a shiny key in her grasp.

"Nice work Gwen!" DJ said, nodding in approval.

Trying the key, Gwen heard a click and then the door swung open. Giving DJ a high five as he made his way out of the enclosure, the goth and the teddy bear took off in the direction of camp. The jock-ette took off in the same direction, but as the two rival team members disappeared in the undergrowth, the jock-ette slowed.

Sprinting back to the cage, she pocketed the key before sprinting on her way as well.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _I could beat them at a footrace in my sleep." Jo said with a shrug. "Besides, you never know when a key might come in handy in this game."_

* * *

"Almost got it." Zoey whispered to herself, bracing herself for the jerk of the bamboo cage as Lightning slammed into it.

_Click._

And then the slam came, and the door flew open. The lock rolled off into the grass and Lightning somersaulted across the clearing.

He slid to a halt only a few feet from the edge of the cliff, then got up and gave a fist pump of victory. "Sha-yeah! See? Lightning told you he would win!"

She didn't even bother to point out that the only reason they were free was from the bobby pin that she'd twisted well beyond repair to pick the lock.

"I'm coming Pops!" Lightning cried out, screaming at the top of his lungs as he began to sprint down the hill. Zoey began to sprint after him, but it was immediately apparent that she would never catch him.

Glancing back over her shoulder, she slid to a stop and began to sprint in the opposite direction – back up the steep slope and to the edge.

Taking a deep breath, she put her hands together, pressed flat in a praying motion.

"Please please _please_ don't let me die."

And then she dove.

* * *

Frowning at the state of their situation, Alejandro glanced over when he heard his companion gasp.

"Did you think of something?" he asked.

"When I was your age, I asked my elders for advice; not to solve my problems for me." Mike muttered in an abnormally wheezy version of his own voice. "Lazy, good for nothing teenyboppers."

"Excuse me?" Alejandro asked, frowning.

"You heard me, eh sonny? Well good! Your whole generation needs a kick in the pants!"

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Mike is n_ _ot_ _the first person I would choose to be trapped in a cage with for a challenge,_ _but he's also not the last person I'd choose."_ _Alejandro said, a devious half-grin_ _on his face_ _. "Mike's – or Chester's, as he's now asked me to_ _call him_ _– behaviour is really_ quite _fascinating."_

* * *

"Well, at least we're not trapped out here all alone, bro." Geoff said, remaining optimistic despite the fact that he was giving up on trying to break free for the moment.

"That makes me feel _so_ much better." Noah said, rolling his eyes. How Geoff could maintain such a sunny disposition at all times, he'd never know. Even though he was giving up hope of escape, he was still so damn cheerful. All the time.

As Geoff turned around, away from the gate of their little enclosure, he stopped dead in his tracks, mouth hanging open.

"Uhh, dude?"

" _What_?" Noah asked sharply.

"I don't want to alarm you or anything but there's a bear behind you."

Noah rolled his eyes, but didn't turn around, which bewildered Geoff, who had backed up all the way to the other side of the cage.

"You-you're not even going to look at it? Aren't you scared?"

"So you can shout 'gotcha' or something? No thanks." Noah said, refusing to be fooled by the party boy's painfully obvious attempt at a practical joke.

But when a cold, wet nose bumped against his arm, and made a soft _whuffing_ sound, Noah ran to the other side of the cage, screaming like a little girl.

* * *

The fall is the hard part. Sometimes, your life flashes before your eyes and you see every one of your best and worst moments, replayed in mere seconds. You think about relationships in your life that are way more complicated than they need to be, and the relationships that make it all worth it in the long run. The places where you have been, where you are now, and where you want to go in the future.

It's a moment of complete clarity, when you know exactly what you need to do.

Other times, you feel like you're experiencing the moment in slow motion. Your brain freezes up and you know you need to act, to react, but you can't even remember how to scream or even breathe.

And as Zoey plunged into the depths of the lake, she felt relief flood her entire body as she regained control.

The cold of the lake water pulling her out of her trance immediately, she began to swim for the surface, her lungs crying out for air. And as her cherry-topped head broke the surface and she began to swim towards the shore, she saw Lightning still sprinting down the hill.

She could still win.

* * *

"You're going to get us in trouble."

"Relax, princess," Duncan shrugged off the brunette's concerns as he waved his lighter under one of the bamboo bars, trying to set it on fire with minimal results.

"You're probably breaking like a hundred different rules right now."

"If I was, McLean would have said something about it by now." he shrugged.

"But-"

"Oooh, _fire_." Another female voice piped up, and their attention was drawn to the girl standing outside their enclosure, staring at the flame from Duncan's lighter with wide green eyes. Sprinting through the woods on all fours, she looked like an animal as she crept towards the flame with a look of intense fascination.

"Izzy!" Courtney said, unsure whether to be relieved that a teammate had arrived that could help her or nervous about which teammate it was that was seemingly coming to the rescue.

"Courtney?" Izzy's eyes darted towards the brunette, and she cocked her head to the side. "Oh! I know! I'll help you!"

And with that, Izzy got to her feet and began to pat her pockets in search of something, her mouth puckered in a look of intense concentration.

"Is there a key anywhere. . ." Courtney trailed off as Izzy found what she'd been searching for and a grin spread across her face like the Cheshire Cat. "No, Izzy – is that?"

Izzy didn't give a response, and instead stepped up to the bar that Duncan was still trying to set on fire, and tossed the ball from her pocket right by the flame.

"This is not going to end well." LeShawna said, frowning.

"Oh no, not again!" Courtney said, a look of terror etched across her freckled face. "Duck and cover!"

The smirk melted off of Duncan's face as the ball became engulfed by the flame.

* * *

Her hands trembled as she pulled at the lock, trying in vain to pick the lock with a twig she'd found on the ground. She hated the woods. She could deal with the woods if she had company, but alone was a big no no. She could not handle being alone in the woods.

Maybe this stick would work. Maybe she'd be able to get free and then she could find her way back to camp.

And maybe Chris would stop making her go out into the woods alone.

_BOOM._

As a column of dark grey smoke pierced the mottled blue and white of the cloudy sky, Bridgette flinched. And as a large number of dark birds took to the skies by the smoke cloud, cawing and shrieking in fear, her chest began to tighten.

The sky overhead turning dark with the wings of hundreds of terrified birds, and wildlife fleeing past her cage, Bridgette began to panic.

Animals were fleeing.

Something was horribly wrong.

* * *

Rubbing smoke from her eyes, Courtney found Duncan crouched in front of her, his arm around her protectively. Looking surprised, she shrugged him off and stood up, arms crossed over her chest.

"You're welcome." He said, his voice full of snark as he got to his feet too.

"I didn't need your help." Courtney retorted, before her features softened and she uncrossed her arms. She opened her mouth and put her hand on his arm gently, looking almost like she was about to thank him, when Izzy spoke and killed the moment entirely.

"That was awesome!" And with that, the redhead burst out laughing.

"You could have killed all of us!" Courtney said, storming over to the girl with narrowed her eyes.

"Haha, I didn't though." Izzy said. "And I got you out!"

Courtney opened her mouth to argue further, but Duncan cut her off, slipping past her. His smirk had returned as he spoke. "Thanks Crazy."

And with that, he took off running in the woods, headed back to camp.

LeShawna followed, casting an apologetic look back at Courtney. "Sorry girl, I feel for ya, but I'm in it to win it."

And with that, she took off running towards camp. Turning back to face her teammate, Courtney found that Izzy had gone too, so the Latina groaned with frustration before beginning her sprint back to camp as well.

* * *

"This challenge is so stupid." Heather said, looking positively miserable as she shivered in the corner of their enclosure. "This whole show is stupid."

"Things aren't always as dire as they seem." Dawn said, scratching behind the ear of a squirrel that had climbed into her lap.

"I didn't _ask_ for your opinion." Heather snapped, rolling her eyes.

"Oh, what have you found, little one?" Dawn asked as a bunny joined the squirrel on her lap. "Is this what I think it is?"

"Could you do me a favour and shut it?"

"But-"

"That's not shutting it."

"As you wish." And with that, Dawn got to her feet and unlocked the cage door with the key that the rabbit had brought her.

"What part of _quiet_ don't you understand?" Heather snapped at the sound of the lock clicking, before glancing over to see her companion leaving. "Hey! Where are you going?!"

* * *

"I wish this were the first time since I've been on this show that I may end up getting mauled by a bear." Noah said, unamused, as the bear sniffed at the bars of the enclosure.

"That's harsh, bro." Geoff said sympathetically. "I feel for you, man."

"Thanks. Your sympathy makes me feel _so much_ better about the situation."

"That's rad." Geoff said, grinning. "Glad I could, like, help you out."

"That was sarcasm." Noah said, rolling his eyes.

"Oh. You should get a sign for that or something." Geoff said, glancing over at the bear for a moment and then looking quite sad. "You know, this is probably how animals at the zoo feel."

"That's funny, I thought you _were_ an animal from the zoo."

"They must be so scared and helpless all the time, ya know? That sucks, man."

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Okay, so if I win this show, I wanna throw a really rad party for like a few hundred of my closest friends." Geoff said, before tipping his hat. "But now, I think I'm gonna donate some of that money to like some wildlife protection foundation or something. Being caged really sucks."_

* * *

"Dude, are you gonna help at all?" Trent asked, casting a frustrated glance over his shoulder at his cell-mate.

"Nope." Scott said, pausing from his whittling for a moment to sniff his armpit.

"Don't you want your team to win?"

"It's more of wanting to ensure that your team loses."

"If my team loses because of me, yours will lose because of you and it will be a tie for last place."

"Think of it as me taking one for the team then."

"You can take one for your team. We'll take two for ours." A female voice greeted the duo, and Trent turned to the cage entrance with a look of relief.

"Jo, thanks for the rescue." Trent said.

"Don't thank me yet, Boy Band." Jo said, standing by the door with the key, but not making any actions with it. "I need a favour."

Trent raised an eyebrow. "What kind of favour?"

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Alejand-_ _joke_ _sees me as a threat, for obvious reasons. He has good looks on his side, so obviously that's why people vote with him." Jo explained. "_ _I'm not going home because morons are willing to send home the_ _competent_ _people just because a pretty boy says so."_

* * *

"I'll scratch your back and you'll scratch mine?" Trent said, frowning. "Alright, fine."

"Alright then." Jo said, putting the key in the lock and turning it, unlocking the door before sprinting away with the key in hand.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Being in an alliance doesn't mean I'm going to stay behind and hold hands." Jo said. "I need his vote, that's it."_

* * *

"Dude, I think he's following you." Geoff said as Noah moved to the other side of the cage and the bear followed him from the outside of the cage.

"I've always wanted to be the limping antelope." Noah said in annoyance. "Darwinism at its _very finest_."

"Maybe he's hungry too."

Noah cast his most annoyed expression at his cell-mate. "Thank you Sherlock."

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Evidently, intelligence has nothing to do with the whole survival of the fittest thing." Noah said drily. "Because if intelligence were a factor, that would make Geoff's mere existence an anomaly."_

* * *

"I mean, the smell of the food on your shirt is making me pretty hungry too." Geoff said.

Noah had never face-palmed so hard in his entire life. "The bear wants my shirt."

"Oh, bummer."

Noah tore off his food-covered sweater-vest and tossed it to the other side of the cage, where the bear was sniffing at the bars. But Noah's lack of physical fitness didn't help matters and the sweatervest landed in a heap on the ground – inside the cage.

Smelling the scent of food stronger now that Noah's shirt was closer, the bear reached into the cage to swipe the shirt, but it was just beyond its reach.

"Aww, man, he can't get it. Poor dude."

Noah only rolled his eyes.

The bear swiped for the shirt a second time, reaching further.

* * *

Okay, so the last time she'd been in the woods, she was pretty sure that she hadn't seen this much wildlife. There were birds and rodents _everywhere_ , and she'd even seen three deer leaping through the woods.

But she was too busy praying that she was ahead of Lightning to notice that all the animals she kept seeing were all running in the same direction. They were _fleeing_.

But she wasn't about to stop and start birdwatching – that is, she wasn't until she sidestepped around a large bush and almost ran headlong into a cage in the middle of the woods. Her hands out in front of her to brace for impact, her body crashed into the cage, prompting the cage's inhabitant to shriek with terror.

"Bridgette?" Zoey asked, taking a deep breath.

Bridgette was on her knees in the cage, her body trembling with each breath and her hands gripping the bars of her cage so fiercely her knuckles had turned white.

"Please help me!" Bridgette asked desperately between gasps for breath.

"Bridgette – are you okay?"

"Please help me." Was Bridgette's only reply – again between gasps for breath.

Moving around to the side of the cage where Bridgette was, Zoey crouched down in front of the girl. "Bridgette? Can you do something for me?"

Bridgette nodded.

"Take a deep breath." As Bridgette complied, Zoey made a fist and pointed her index finger up. Holding it front of the blonde surfer girl, Zoey offered a reassuring smile. "Now blow out the candle."

Once more, Bridgette complied.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Okay, I know we're on different teams, but she was having a panic attack when I found her." Zoey told the confessional. "I couldn't just leave her there!"_

* * *

"Come on." Zoey said, gesturing in the direction of camp as she pushed open the door to Bridgette's cage, after unlocking it with a key that had been hanging from a tree branch nearby.

"Thank you for helping me." Bridgette said, smiling at the redhead.

"Don't mention it." Zoey said, returning the blonde's smile before gesturing once more towards camp. "Let's go."

* * *

The bear had been swiping through the bars at Noah's sweater for nearly ten full minutes. And with each swipe, the bear got more annoyed. And with each swipe, the bear put more weight against the side of the cage. And with each swipe, the cage groaned more under the pressure.

And then, suddenly, the groaning stopped.

The cage lay in pieces around the two of them, and all that lay between the two of them and the bear was a sweater-vest covered in that morning's breakfast.

So they did the only logical thing to do if one finds him or herself in that situation.

They exchanged a terrified glance before running for their lives into the forest, screaming very much like little girls.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _Well what did you expect us to do?" Noah snarked. "Stick around to find out just how hungry that bear actually was?"_

* * *

Jo burst through the forest first and began her sprint for the finish line. It was a few moments before Scott and Trent followed suit, sprinting as fast as they could in a futile attempt to catch up to Jo.

The Gopher and Bears players who had already arrived at the finish line began cheering for their teammates to arrive, louder and louder as each person got closer until the two teams were shouting their support.

Jo skidded to a stop as she reached her fellow Gophers, turning back to yell 'encouragement' at Trent, along with her teammates' more supportive cheers.

As Trent and Scott sprinted towards the finish line, they were neck-and-neck. That is, they were until Scott seemed to stumble and slammed into Trent, sending the musician sprawling on the ground.

"Oh, sorry!" Scott called back, entirely insincerely.

* * *

**Confessional**

" _That was a dirty move." Trent said, holding an icepack to the shoulder that had hit the ground first. "I'd wager my guitar on the fact that he did that on purpose."_

* * *

Still screaming, Noah and Geoff burst out of the woods, the party guy easily having pulled ahead of the bookworm. Trent had picked himself off the ground and was limping towards the finish line as quickly as he could, where all their teammates were assembled and waiting.

Geoff and Noah were covering ground quickly. Geoff arrived first, followed by Trent and then Noah.

"Congratulations Bass – looks like you finally broke that losing streak!" Chris said, still grinning.

"We made it dude!" Geoff said, letting out a cheerful whoop in celebration, offering Noah a high five.

The bookworm, who was bent over, gasping for breath and clutching the stitch in his side, gave an annoyed look at the blonde Bass member.

"C'mon bro! We both survived! Don't leave me hanging!"

And with a roll of his eyes, Noah returned the high five, if only to shut Geoff up.

"We're down to the wire now! Who will end up at the campfire tonight – the Gophers or the Bears?" Chris asked, looking directly into the camera to address the audience.

"Look, there they are!" Cody called out, pointing across the campsite to the edge of the woods, where Bridgette and Zoey were walking side by side.

The Bears and the Gophers began to cheer for their respective teammates.

"RUN, DAMNIT! RUN!" Jo yelled, getting the attention of the two girls.

The blonde and the redhead exchanged an alarmed look and then began to sprint for the finish line. It was Bridgette, then Zoey, then Bridgette again.

They were neck-and-neck, one taking the lead for a few seconds, and then losing it to the other girl. And they kept switching leaders every few seconds for the entire sprint.

And in the very end, it was Zoey.

"Gophers take second!" Chris said before turning to the Bears. "I'll be seeing you losers at the campfire tonight."

"Nice work Zoey." Trent said, putting his good hand on his teammate's shoulder.

"What happened to you?" Zoey asked, regarding her friend with a concerned expression.

"Took a tumble. Don't worry, I'm fine."

* * *

"Campers, I have seven marshmallows on this plate." Chris said, the firelight illuminating his face as though he was about to tell them all a horror story. "If you do not receive a marshmallow tonight, you are eliminated from the competition. And you can't come back. Ever."

Courtney rolled her eyes in annoyance at the spiel that never failed to accompany her team losing.

"Mike. Izzy." Chris said, tossing a marshmallow to the blue-shirt brunette, then the green-shirted redhead.

"Cameron. Sadie. Lightning." And each of the team members caught a marshmallow.

"Courtney." The Latina just rolled her eyes again and went to join her teammates at the campfire.

"Bridgette, Scott, you are our bottom two tonight." Chris said, looking from one to the other as the news sank in. "You were the last two members of your team to arrive at the finish line. And it looks like your teammates are quite prepared to blame the loss on the two of you. But who will be going home tonight?"

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

Lights suddenly lit up the entire campfire area from above and the sound of helicopters cut through the night.

"Izzy, we know you're down there!" A voice over a megaphone called. "You are under arrest!"

"Wait – all that stuff you said was true?" Courtney asked in disbelief.

"No, just the RCMP part." Izzy said, grinning at her teammate one last time before jumping to her feet. "YOU'LL NEVER GET ME ALIVE! HAHAHA!"

And with that, she sprinted into the woods, pursued by three helicopters with spotlights.

"Well, that was unexpected." Chris said after a moment of stunned silence from the team. Then he shrugged. "But I guess that wraps everything up here."

"So, nobody else is getting eliminated tonight?" Courtney asked.

"Well, I mean, I can boot one of them if you _want_ me to-"

"No! That's okay!" Courtney said, putting her hands up as if in surrender. "We're down enough players as it is."

"Alright then." Chris said, shrugging and making his way back to his trailer and leaving the Bears to breath a unified sigh of relief.

* * *

**The Votes:**

" _Bridgette came in last place." Lightning said. "Lightning carries his team anyway but losers have got to sha-go."_

Static.

" _I still don't trust Scott." Courtney said. "But Izzy could have killed me today. Quite frankly, she's a danger to society."_

Static.

" _Sorry 'sweetie'," Scott said. "But I've said it before - you're expendable."_

Static.

" _Courtney really needs to lighten up." Izzy said. "She lectured me for like three hours before supper. It's was all 'blah blah blah explosions are dangerous blah blah people could have died blah blah starting forest fires is illegal'."_

Static.

" _Scott said we were voting for Cam tonight." Bridgette said with a shrug. "He's a nice guy though, it'll be a shame to see him go."_

Static.

" _Okay, so Scott told me to vote for Bridgette, but I totally thought Scott and Bridgette were supposed to be tight!" Sadie said. "That's, like, major betrayal! I think Scott should go!"_

Static.

" _Bridgette told Scott about my 'quirks'. I don't want someone on my team that I really don't trust." Mike said._

Static.

" _I guess I choose Scott – he and Bridgette were both last place for our team, but at least Bridgette did it fairly." Cameron said, adjusting his glasses._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eliminated so far:
> 
> 37th: Katie  
> 36th: Staci  
> 35th: Sierra  
> 34th: Sam  
> 33rd: Eva  
> 32nd: Owen  
> 31st: B  
> 30th/29th: Lindsay & Ezekiel  
> 28th: Justin  
> 27th: Brick  
> 26th: Dakota  
> 25th: Anne Maria  
> 24th: Harold  
> 23rd: Tyler  
> 22nd: Beth  
> 21st: Izzy


End file.
